


Griffin's Anatomy

by Kabby_Kru



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Abby has Paige's love for chocolate, Doctor!Marcus Kane, F/M, Pastor!Vera Kane, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2019-10-21 09:46:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 29,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17640419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kabby_Kru/pseuds/Kabby_Kru
Summary: Abby Griffin is the Head of Neurosurgery at Griffin Memorial Hospital. Her husband Jake, former Chief of General Surgery, passed away 5 years ago, leaving Abby to raise their then-11 year old daughter on her own. Now Clarke is 16 and greatly missing her dad as many big life moments start to happen. Abby's best friend and director of cardio, Callie Cartwig, convinces Abby to go out and see handsome doctor/ singer Marcus Kane perform a set at a local bar. Is Abby really ready to start dating again? Will she and Marcus even hit it off?You probably already know the answer.Heavily inspired by another favorite show of mine: Grey's Anatomy (hence the title).





	1. Another One Bites The Dust

            Abigail Griffin sat on a cold, black bench outside of the Griffin Memorial Hospital, smoking a cigarette. She’d hadn’t lit a Marlboro in nearly a week, but having just lost yet another patient, she’d told herself that she needed it. _Three_ patients lost in that week alone. Not that Abby wasn’t a good doctor—she was—but being the Head of Neurosurgery, she’d always gotten the most perilous of cases. Leading the neurosurgery team, raising a teenage daughter on her own, and helping teach residents the in and outs of neuro had put a lot of stress on Abby as of late and 6 days in, she was already over her New Year’s Resolution to quit smoking.

            She tore off her galaxy space scrub cap, the cap which her late husband Jake Griffin would always wear while performing a risky surgery, and held it in her hands, a small tear drop rolling out of her eyes, down her cheek, and onto the cap. It always brought him good luck, he’d say. He was once the Chief of General Surgery at what was then-known as Arkadia Grace Hospital, and had the highest success rates, always crediting the cap.

            Abby hung her head in shame, wishing it’d bring her the same luck that it used to bring him. She swore under her breath. She began to feel that the cap was now cursed, if one believed in that sort of thing. After all, the cap didn’t save him when he died in a car crash at 40. Technically speaking, it was the head trauma that killed him. Abby had begged them to let her operate on him, she knew she could save him, but they didn’t see it that way. And they let him die. The then-Head of Trauma, Thelonious Jaha, let him die. He stepped down after the incident but the fact that the man had the nerve to continue working at the hospital as an attending made Abby’s blood boil.

            It’d been 5 years since Jake’s death and Abby still lived in shock. She wore his wedding band around her neck, her own band still living on her left-hand ring finger. She could never find the strength to move it to her right hand, officially making her a widow, and she was certainly not ready to remove it completely. So, she continued to wear it, as if she was still married, as if she wasn’t coming home to a near-empty house, and as if she wasn’t sleeping in a desolate, cold bed.

            Abby’s shift had ended but still she sat on the bench in defeat, smoking her pack of Marlboro Reds, her eyes reddened and misty. After over a decade in neuro, a part of Abby thought losing patients would get easier. Of course, the other part of her knew it would never be easy, and she didn’t want it to be. If it became easy, then she would lose empathy, and despite what others may say, she believed that empathy was important for a surgeon to have. She would be lying to herself, however, if she said that she didn’t envy those who lacked said-empathy. Their free time following their less-than-successful days were probably much more cheerful and productive than hers.

            It was probably around midnight when her best friend Callie Cartwig, the director of cardiothoracic surgery and Abby’s best friend, joined Abby on the bench.

            “Hey, darling. Isn’t your shift over? Why are you still in your scrubs? It’s freezing out here!”

            Abby felt Callie reach for her arm, which was covered in goosebumps. Truth be told, Abby hadn’t even noticed that she was still in her scrubs. As soon as she called the time of death on the 8 year old boy with the brain stem glioma, she rushed out of the hospital in a daze, her vision blurry, her ears ringing, her chest feeling tight. She’d suffered from panic attacks since high school, and she’d learned to deal with them: find an object nearby and focus on it while taking deep breaths, in and out. Abby spent the first ten minutes outside calming herself down before finding the nearest bench. She couldn’t even face the family, which made her feel even worse. _Coward_ , she called herself.

            Abby didn’t reply to Callie right away. She sat still, a half-smoked cigarette between her cracked lips, the ashes nearly ready to fall, and her husband’s tear-stained scrub cap in her hands. She wore an emotionless expression on her face, her dark eyes unreadable.

            “I lost another one,” was all Abby could muster, her gravelly voice cracking as she used nearly all of her strength to speak.

            Callie furrowed her brow. “Oh, sweetie,” she said, pulling her best friend into a hug. Abby’s face fell into Callie’s chest and she began to sob. Her tears soaked Callie’s heather grey sweater. Callie stroked Abby’s light brown hair and comforted her, never saying another word. They’d known one another since they first began as interns at the hospital and they quickly became best friends. Over the years they’ve learned how the other person ticked, when to speak and when to just listen. Abby was even the maid of honor at Callie’s wedding 3 years ago when she married Charmaine Diyoza, former U.S. Army trauma surgeon and current head of trauma surgery. Abby knew then just how to calm Callie down before she walked down the aisle, before marrying the woman of her dreams, just as Callie knew in that very moment that all Abby needed was a shoulder, or in this case a sweater, to cry on.

            Once Abby cried all the tears that she had and lifted her head back up, Callie pulled her into another hug.

            “How about you go home and get some rest and why don’t you join Charmaine and I at Old Man Frank’s tomorrow night? A cute singer/songwriter is performing who I think you might like.”

            Abby laughed the first time that night. Callie was always trying to set Abby up with someone. “Callie, I-”

            “Abby, _please_! He’s really cute. We actually dated briefly in high school, but we won’t talk about that.”

            Abby’s ears perked up. “Say what?”

            “No, no, I’ve said too much!”

            “You want to pass your sloppy seconds onto _me_ , your best friend?”

            The remark sparked a guffaw from Callie and she slapped Abby’s knee. “Oh, stop! It was in high school, I barely remember it. Besides, it lasted a month, tops. He’s actually a doctor, too!”

            “Oh?”

            “Yes! He’s a pediatrician at Polis Regional.”

            “I heard rumors Polis is shutting down soon.”

            “I’m not sure. That’s one thing you two can talk about tomorrow night!” Callie nudged Abby in the side. “Look, Abs, I know we have a job that is stressful and demanding and it takes a lot out of us, but everyone needs some fun in their lives. You’ve _got_ to start getting out more.” She stroked Abby’s cheek with her hand and brushed a strand of sticky, light brown hair from her tear-soaked face. “Say yes. Please, Abby? Just one night. A Saturday night out on the town, just like old times!”

            Old times. Before Jake passed away, she meant.

            Abby let out a sigh of defeat and sat in thought for a moment. “Okay, fine,” she finally replied. “What time?”

            Callie beamed. “6 o’clock sharp. Now go home and get some rest.” She kissed the top of Abby’s head and walked to her car.

            Abby pushed herself off of the bench, her feet aching from a long day’s work, and went back inside to change out of her scrubs before heading home for the night.

 

 


	2. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (A Flashback)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback chapter of Jake Griffin's death.

          _September 2014_

            She was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying her morning coffee—two sugars, no cream—when she got the call. She had the rare day off and had planned to enjoy it while Clarke was at school. Jake was due back home a while ago after his evening shift, but it was morning rush hour, so Abby didn’t think anything of his tardiness. _He’ll be home soon_ , she told herself. But then, the call. The call that changed everything. Her cordless landline rang and she picked it up as she held a cream cheese danish in her mouth.

            “Hello,” she answered, her words muffled. She held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder and tore off a bite of the danish and then placed it back on the plate.

            “Abby.” Callie’s voice was on the other line, broken, obviously upset.

            Abby swallowed. “Callie, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

            “Abby, it’s Jake. You need to get here. There’s been an accident.”

            Abby could feel the heat on her chest rise to her face as her blood pressure began to escalate. An accident? ‘Get here’? Get _where_?

            “What?! Callie, where are you?”

            “At the hospital, Abby. Jake’s been in a car crash and he’s injured. Please, drive safe, but hurry.”

            Abby opened her mouth to speak but the line cut off. She dropped the phone onto the kitchen table, frantically slipped on her shoes, and rushed out the door, leaving behind her half eaten danish and hot cup of black coffee sitting in a ceramic mug written “World’s Greatest Wife.”

* * *

  

            Abby burst through the staff entrance door in her red flannel pajama pants and a faded Rolling Stones t-shirt and sprinted down the hallway. She grabbed the first person that she could find wearing scrubs and shouted “Where’s my husband? Jake! Where is he?!”

            The young man, clearly an intern, looked stunned. He stuttered, but before he could manage to say anything, Abby was gone, looking for someone else who could actually manage to formulate a sentence.

            Finally, Abby found Callie who was no longer in her work attire.

            “Callie! What the hell is going on?”

            Callie embraced Abby, “Oh, darling. It’s bad. The head trauma, especially. I’d just clocked out when they brought him in. I told them I’d call you and wait for you here. The Jeep was totally crushed. It was hit head on. Drunk driver.”

            Abby closed her eyes and took some slow, deep breaths. She cursed him in her head for insisting on driving that old Jeep. He had more money than he knew what to do with yet he drove a Cherokee older than their daughter. Her mind began to race: What if Clarke had been in the car with him? Where _was_ Clarke? School, that’s right. Oh, no, she needs to call Clarke. But she doesn’t want to worry her. But she deserves to know…

            “Abby?”

            “I need to call Clarke,” Abby said, snapping out of her daze. “She needs to know.”

            Abby dug through her Dooney & Bourke purse to find her pink Motorola Razr, a phone her pre-teen daughter, Clarke, mocked her for still owning in 2014, but Abby was not very tech-savvy and didn’t care for change. She opened up her phone and pressed 2 to speed dial Clarke’s school.

            “Arkadia Middle School, Carolann speaking. How can I help you?” The secretary had high pitched voice and sounded very chipper. A sad contrast to Abby’s current mood and situation.

            “Hi, yes, this is Abagail Griffin, my daughter Clarke is in 6th grade at your school. There’s… been a family emergency and my friend is going to have to come pick her up.” Abby rubbed her thumb to her chin, perhaps a bit too hard—a nervous tic.

            The secretary clicked her tongue. Abby could hear the faint sound of a computer mouse and keyboard in the background which was mostly being drowned out by the sound of a crying child. During the silence between the lines, Abby wondered what was so wrong with a middle schooler to cry so loudly.

“And what’s the name of the person checking her out,” Carolann finally asked.

            “Callie Cartwig.”

            “Perfect, she’s on the pickup list so you’re good to go. She can just come to the front office to check her out when she gets here.”

            “Thank you.”

            “Not a problem, and I hope everything will be okay!”

            Abby hoped so, too. She put her phone back inside her purse and exchanged glances with Callie.

            Callie offered her a warm smile and hugged her. “I’ll be back soon. Go sit down, it’ll be a while before we hear anything, anyway.”

            “Wait… You mentioned head trauma is the worst of his injuries?”

            “Yes. Why?”

            Abby’s contemplative silence gave Callie her answer.

            “Abs, no. You need to be here for your daughter.”

            “Callie, I can save him, I know I can!”

            “Thelonious is a wonderful surgeon, Abby. Jake is in good hands. You know that the Chief, or anyone else for that matter, would never let you operate on a family member! Now please, just rest and be here for Clarke when we get back.”

            Callie stroked Abby’s hair and kissed her cheek before walking out the hospital doors.

            Abby stood frozen in place, her shoulders hung in defeat.

            Then, her body jolted to the sound of a deep voice behind her.

            “Abby.”

            She turned to see Dr. Thelonious Jaha wearing a melancholy expression. Abby furrowed her brow.

            “Dr. Jaha… Jake, is he going to be okay?”

            Jaha was quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath and sighing. “Please, sit down.” He reached for her arm but she pulled back violently.

            “NO! I want to see my husband. Where is he?”

            “Abby, I’m so sorry. We did everything we could.”

            Abby’s voice grew louder but more broken. “What? What? No, no, no. No, I… I can save him. Callie mentioned head trauma? Please, let me save my husband!”

            Jaha removed his surgeon’s cap in defeat. He shook his head. “Abby he’s gone.”

            Abby froze. As the words sunk in, her body slowly began to crumble to the cold, hard, and newly waxed hospital floors. A long, drawn out wail escaped her as she became a puddle of hopelessness and grief.

            Jaha knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m _so_ sorry, Abby,” his voice was low. “Like I said, we did everything we could.”

            Abby slapped him away frantically as if she was being swarmed by killer bees. “DON’T YOU TOUCH ME! YOU KILLED HIM!” She lifted her head to face him, her hair nearly fallen out of its already-loose pony tail, her tear-soaked face stricken with grief. “Just please… leave.”

            She hung her head down and cried some more. Prayed. Pleaded. Her cries were so loud, so full of desperation, she didn’t even hear him walk away. When she rose her head up, finally ready to face the world again, he was gone.

            She pushed herself off of the floor and found the nearest chair, her knees weak. It was then, she felt eyes on her. Apparently, she had caused quite the scene and the others in the waiting room looked on at her, mostly with a sympathetic gaze, but a few with horror as they attempted to direct their small children’s attention elsewhere. She didn’t have time to feel embarrassed, however, as she heard “Mom,” being shouted from Clarke in her green school uniform and long blonde hair in a side fishtail braid. Abby stood to greet her child as Clarke ran to hug her mother.

            “What’s going on? How’s dad? Callie told me he was in a wreck!”

            Abby tried blinking the tears away from her eyes. She hugged her child who sat on her lap and kissed her head. “Dad’s… Dad’s gone, Clarke. He got hurt really bad and… he’s gone.”

            Callie was standing behind Abby and gasped at the news, wrapping her arms around her friend.

Clarke’s eyes widened in shock and quickly filled with tears. “Gone?” she said, wiping a large teardrop from her eye. “Wha-what do you mean?” Her small voice, not yet changed by puberty, cracked.

            Abby cleared her throat, forcing back any emotions. “The doctors couldn’t save him. He was hurt too bad. He passed away from his injuries during surgery.”

            Clarke, a daddy’s girl since birth, broke down. “But, we were supposed to go to the Daddy Daughter dance in February.” Her pink lips trembled. Abby’s heart broke but she couldn’t help but smile to herself. It was September and her child was already thinking of something 5 months in advance. A planner, just like her father.

            “There are a lot of things that were supposed to happen, baby. But we’ll…” Abby sighed in thought. “We’ll just have to adjust.” Her response sounded cold, robotic, and perhaps it was. She wanted to be strong for Clarke but the only way for her to do that was to shut down completely.

            They sat and talked a little while longer, Abby and Callie answering any of Clarke’s questions. The three comforted one another for some time before Callie suggested they went home to get some rest.

            After a quiet car ride home, they returned to a house full of Jake. His coffee mugs, his house slippers, his tooth brush, his clothes, his recliner. Everywhere you looked, you saw, and sometimes even smelled, Jake. It was almost too much for Abby to handle, her heart sinking more and more at every reminder of him.

            For the first time in 4 years, Clarke slept in Abby’s bed that night. Clarke slept like a rock while Abby tossed and turned, dozing off for a moment here and there, only to rouse from the nightmares of Jake’s horrendous death. She knew that night, she’d never be the same again.


	3. Under Pressure

            Abby awoke at 7 o’clock that morning, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. She’d just had a nightmare just like every other night, but this one wasn’t about Jake.

            It was about that 8 year old boy she’d lost last night in the OR. In the dream, she stood in a dark and empty OR, a spotlight beaming down on her. She felt an eerie feeling, as if she wasn’t supposed to be there. She tried to move her feet, but she was stuck. Glancing down, she noticed her hands were covered in crimson red blood. She tried wiping it off to no avail. Then, another loud spotlight came on and revealed the body of the boy, pale, lifeless, his eyes sewn shut. She reached out to touch him but just as her fingertips landed on his cold cheek, he sprang forward, the stitches bursting off of his eyelids. Abby pulled her arm back and tried to scream, but she couldn’t. She tried to run, but she couldn’t do that either. The boy’s eyes were full of blood and a voice came out of him, sounding nearly demonic.

            “You killed me.” He growled. “You let me die.”

            He pounced off of the operating table, right for Abby, before she jolted out of her slumber, sopping wet from the nightmare.

            She propped herself up with some pillows on the bed and gathered her thoughts, taking slow, deep breaths. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she reached for the bottle of water sitting on her bedside table. Leftover from the night before, it was warm now, but quenched her thirst and relieved her dry mouth.

            Abby searched the bed for the black hair tie that fell out of her hair in the middle of the night, her vision still slightly blurry from her sleep. Or was it old age? Abby groaned, but having finally found the hair tie, she felt grateful for the small victory. She put her long hair up in a loose bun before stumbling to the shower, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and leaving a trail of clothes behind.

* * *

 

            “Morning, Mom!”

            Abby’s feet hadn’t even hit the ground floor when the voice of her daughter made her body jolt with surprise. She rounded the corner to see a messy-haired Clarke holding a cup of coffee, slouched down into the sofa with her feet propped up on an ottoman, wrapped in a fuzzy Star Wars blanket. She and Jake often bonded over Star Wars, Abby never really understood it.

            “I made coffee,” the teen said, holding up her Darth Vader coffee mug.

            “You’re awake before me _and_ you’ve made coffee? We must be living in the Twilight Zone,” Abby deadpanned, kissing her daughter on the top of her head before heading to the kitchen to pour herself a cup.

            She opened the cabinet to find a plethora of mugs. Her eyes scanned the cabinet as her hand hovered over the mugs. She fought back the wave of emotion as her eyes landed on the mugs Jake had purchased her over the years, all now sitting in the back of the cabinet. “World’s Greatest Wife,” “Thug Wife,” “Wifey.” They were all so very cheesy but they never failed to make Abby laugh. It became sort of an inside joke for the two of them and over the years, her cabinet began to overflow with mugs.

            After deciding on the “Oh For Fox Sake” mug featuring an adorable cartoon fox, Abby poured herself a cup of coffee, two sugars, no cream, and joined Clarke on the couch, who was watching Star Wars Episode IV.

            Abby propped her feet onto the ottoman and blew on her coffee. “I don’t think you’ve watched Star Wars since Dad died, have you?”

            Clarke sat for a moment, contemplating, a sad look falling on her face. “No…”

            “What’s changed?” Abby had never been too shy to ask her daughter the difficult questions. She always thought that if her daughter couldn’t talk to her, then who could she talk to? It was vitally important for Clarke to learn how to communicate her feelings and thoughts if she were to have successful relationships in life.

            “Well, Bellamy is a big fan-”

            “Bellamy, from your chem lab?”

            “Yeah…”

            Abby pursed her lips. “Hmm. When am I going to get to meet this Bellamy kid?”

            Clarke chewed at her bottom lip. The room fell silent with just the tv playing in the background. “That’s no moon… It’s a space station!”

            Clarke chuckled. “I love that part,” in response to the classic line.

            “You’re changing the subject,” Abby said knowingly.

            “No, I’m not! I just- Ugh. It’s not that serious.”

            “If you’re willing to watch Star Wars again, something you haven’t mentioned since your father passed away, then this boy must be pretty important to you.”

            The young girl sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s still so new. I don’t want to jinx anything. He hasn’t even asked me out yet. We’re just talking.”

            Abby made a face. “Talking? What the hell does that even mean? Either you’re dating or you’re not.”

            Clarke simply rolled her eyes. She’s heard the same thing time and time again, but still Abby could not make any sense of the new dating terminology. Things have changed drastically since Abby was in the dating scene, and she could never imagine dating during this day and time.

            Abby took a swig of her coffee and clicked her tongue as it went down. “Maybe you should ask him over for dinner sometime. I’d love to meet him.”

            Clarke took a deep breath and closed her eyes, obviously trying not to lose her patience with her persistent mother. “Like I said, it’s new and it’s not that serious, mom.”

            Knowing she’s already pushed her daughter to her limits, she dropped the subject, at least temporarily. Abby slouched into the couch to level with Clarke, putting her free arm around her, finally drawing her attention to the movie on the big screen TV above the fireplace.

            “You know, that Harrison Ford is sure handsome.”

            Clarke scoffed. “He’s old!”

            “Not to me!” Abby and Clarke both giggled and sipped on their coffees.

            After the movie ended, Clarke and Abby washed the dishes and put them away. “Do you have any plans for tonight?” Abby asked, casually, as she handed the clean dishes to Clarke to dry.

            “Oh, just having a study party with some friends at Starbucks. I’ll probably turn in early tonight.”

            “What friends? Bellamy?” Abby smiled mischievously.

            Clarke lightly slapped her mom on the back with the damp dish rag. “No! Raven, John, Monty, and Jasper. Harper was gonna come, too, but she’s sick.”

            “Raven… I thought you two weren’t friends, due to the whole Finn ordeal.”

            “Yeah, but after the dust was settled and Finn moved away and Lexa and I started dating, Raven and I realized how stupid it was to fight over a boy who played us both. Women supporting women, that’s what you always say.”

            Abby smiled proudly. “You’re right, I do always say that… Have you… heard from Lexa?” Clarke and Lexa agreed to stay friends after their break up, but Abby knew that was always easier said than done.

            Clarke’s eyes refused to meet Abby’s and she stayed focused on drying the mug. “No…”

            “I know you loved her, baby.” Abby’s voice was low and soft. She reached out a motherly hand and rubbed Clarke’s back, the young girl’s long blonde hair stopping at her shoulder blades.

            Clarke’s eyes welled up with tears and she nodded her head quickly as she tried to fight back the waterworks, still drying the cup, more aggressively now.

            Abby took notice and tried to change the subject. “Sweetie?”

            “Hmm?”

            “If you dry that mug any longer, the paint’s gonna peel off.”

            Clarke laughed, her tears falling then at the motion of her cheeks rising. She set the mug aside and wiped away her tears, clearing her throat. “What about you, mom? Got any big plans for tonight.” Clarke was being funny, she knew her mom never went out. However, Clarke was in for a surprise.

            “As a matter of fact, yes! I’m going out with Callie and Charmaine tonight to Old Man Frank’s to see a show.”

            Clarke’s eyes widened. “Wow-I… That’s not what I was expecting to hear. Good for you, mom!”

            “Oh, don’t patronize me,” Abby joked.

            Clarke giggled, “No, really. It’s great you’re getting out. Callie told me that you had a rough week at work, but she didn’t mention you were going out.”

            “I wish she didn’t share that stuff with you. I prefer to keep my work life private from my daughter. You shouldn’t have to worry about all of my crap.”

             “Well, in that case, I’m not obligated to share with you what’s going on at school.”

             Abby arched a brow. “Now wait a minute. I’m the parent, I deserve to know!”

            Clarke laughed, drawing out a laugh from Abby. The two finished up the dishes and dried their hands. Clarke hugged her mother and kissed her cheek. “Have fun tonight, mom. You deserve it.”

            Clarke went back to watching Star Wars, while Abby worked around the house, catching up on all of the chores that were neglected throughout the week.

            As she folded laundry, she contemplated what she was going to wear that night. Something casual, something a bit more formal? It was only Old Man Frank’s, after all. She almost texted Callie to see what she and Charmaine were wearing, but she didn’t want to seem like she was overthinking things, because she _was_. Why was she so nervous about going out to a bar?

            Four o’clock rolled around and Abby couldn’t take the waiting around any longer, so she decided to get dressed. She curled and styled her hair and applied a nude lipstick and a little foundation, not wanting to go over-the-top, considering she rarely wore any makeup at all. She tried on four different outfits before deciding on a half-sleeve v-neck burgundy top, a pair of black skinny jeans, and black Chelsea boots.

            By five, Abby was fully dressed and sitting on the couch, checking the time on her iPhone every few minutes, accidentally taking screenshots every time, cursing under her breath at the device which she swore had a mind of its own. She sat, her legs crossed, bouncing her leg in concentration as she calculated and recalculated the time that it would take for her to arrive at the bar just in time. She didn’t want to arrive too early and have no one to talk to, but she didn’t want to arrive too late, either. By 5:30, she decided to take off for the 10 minute walk to Old Man Frank’s and just walk really slowly, window shopping on the way there. She thought to herself that this going out thing is really complicated. She made a mental note to tell Callie that the next girl’s night will be inside her house watching Netflix.

            At 5:45 Abby stood outside the bar’s doors, reading their chalkboard sign. “Alcohol may not solve your problems, but neither will water.” Abby quietly snorted and snapped a picture to send to Clarke, attached with the text _I made it_ alongside a kiss emoji.

_Clarke: You’ve only been gone for like 10 minutes, Mom, and you’re already texting me._

_Abby: 15, actually. I left early._

_Clarke: Early bird gets the worm._

_Abby: A tequila soaked worm, in this case! Love you, see you tonight! Maybe._

_Clarke: If you drink tequila, you might be seeing two of me. Or none of me. Haha. Love you, too, mama! Be safe and HAVE FUN <3_

            It was Abby’s first full night off in she wasn’t sure how long, and after the hellish week she’d just had, she fully intended to make the most of the evening.

 


	4. Brown Eyed Girl

            Abby pushed open the door to the dimly lit bar, small bells jingling behind her as it closed. She had fully prepared herself to be waiting alone for another 5 or 10 minutes; however, as her eyes scanned the small, smoke-filled room, she heard a familiar voice.

            “Abby,” Callie waved over from a booth adjacent to the tiny stage, her wife Charmaine Diyoza slouched over with her arm around her, a pair of Moscow Mules resting in front of the couple on the table.

            The three women hugged and Abby joined them in the oversized sticky red booth.

            “I knew you’d show up early so Char and I tried our best to beat you here. You look great, by the way!” Callie’s eyes scanned her friend as she took a sip from her drink. “How many times did you change before deciding on that outfit?”

            Charmaine hid her laugh behind the damp copper mug.

            Abby didn’t protest, she was right, after all. “What matters is I’m here and I’m dressed. That’s the most you’ve gotten out of me in 5 years.”

            “And I’m so glad you’re here,” Callie grinned, reaching for Abby’s hand and placing it in her own.

            Charmine nodded and added her hand on top. “So am I. Now enough of the feelings, let’s get drunk!”

            “I’ll drink to that,” Callie clinked her glass against her wife’s.

            Despite her jokes, Abby had made no plans to get drunk. _Just a drink or two,_ she thought.

            The young waitress came and took her order, a classic margarita on the rocks with salt around the rim. Diyoza ordered a round of tequila shots, despite Abby’s protest. Callie was cheering her on as she forced the liquid down, her chapped lips burning from the alcohol, almost as if she’d just placed them against her lighter flame. She chased it with a sip of her lemon-lime concoction as she felt a shiver go down her spine from the straight tequila. She imagined the women as two devils on her shoulder, the angel somewhere far, far away from that crowded, smoky bar.

            The three chatted about life, making an agreement like they always make to not talk about work, but just like always, soon failing and when the topic turned to the crazy cases they’d seen come through the ER the past several weeks. Their conversation came to a halt at the sound of an amp being turned on and the strum of an acoustic guitar.

            “That’s him!” Callie whispered, slapping Abby on the forearm to be sure she noticed.

            Abby furrowed her brow at her and looked down at her arm. “I _see_ that, you didn’t have to slap me.”

            The two women snickered.

            “So… what do you think,” Callie whispered.

            Abby paused. “I don’t know. He hasn’t started singing yet,” she said with a shrug.

            “I _mean_ , how does he look?”

            Oh. “ _Ohh_. Erm. He has nice…” _Everything_ , she thought to herself. “Hair.”

            “Ha, yeah he does. I have to wonder how long he spent on it tonight.”

            Diyoza feigned bewilderment. “You mean he doesn’t just wake up like that?!”

            The women laughed, causing the man’s eyes to draw towards them. He noticed Callie first and gave her a familiar nod. She nodded back and held her drink up to him. His eyes then moved to Abby and stayed on her maybe a bit too long. She could feel herself blush, but she didn’t mind the attention from him.

            He wasn’t her usual type. While Jake had light colored hair, clean shaven face, and blue eyes, Marcus had tanned skin, dark, wavy hair, and a short salt-and-pepper beard. He flashed her a beautiful glaringly white smile. She sat like a deer in headlights until she felt an elbow nudge her side. At that, she flashed a smile back, but his attention had already been directed back to his instrument.

            Marcus strummed on his guitar, fiddling with the keys until it sounded just right, then adjusted the microphone. He sat upon the stage atop a small wooden stool, wearing a white pocket tee, black jeans, and a pair of black combat boots. A young man, around Clarke’s age, followed behind him and sat on top of a cajon. He cleared his throat before adjusting the microphone once more.

            “Thank you all for coming out tonight. How is everyone tonight” he asked, his voice soft, but deep. The crowd clapped and cheered.

            “And I’d like to thank the owner, Frank, for having me back. He’s been a good friend over the years. It’s not often I get an actual day off from work but when I do, this is my favorite place to be, with you lovely people.” He continued to pick the guitar lightly as he spoke. “Tonight I’ve got my good buddy Jasper with me on the cajon. I was actually the doctor who delivered him 16 years ago. He’s a great kid and musician and I’m happy to have him with me tonight. We’re going to be doing some covers from my generation, which, in my opinion, will always be the best when it comes to music. We hope you enjoy, and sing along if you know the words.”

            Marcus picked at his guitar before beginning a familiar tune: American Pie. The three women clapped to the beat and sang along to every word. Abby felt like she had took a time machine back to junior high. In that moment, no dead husband or dead patients haunted her mind, she felt as carefree as a child while the alcohol and music married and created a perfect potion which coursed through her veins.

            The second song of choice was Brown Eyed Girl. Abby closed her eyes for the first half of the song, swaying to the music and singing along with the man whose voice was smooth as silk. When she opened her eyes, she began to notice Marcus looking at her when he sang the chorus. By the end of the song, the two were practically making love to one another with their gazes.

            When the sha-la-la-las were over, Marcus slowed down the tempo. He wore a mischievous grin as he sang the words to “Ain’t Even Done With The Night,” his eyes occasionally scanning the crowded bar, but always coming back to Abby. She could feel the heat rise within her as he sang to _her_.

            Up next was Fat Bottomed Girls. Abby was only 2 when the song came out, but she could remember having a crush on Freddie Mercury since she was old enough to have crushes. She laughed at Callie and Charmaine as they loudly sang along, playfully patting one another on the bottoms during the chorus.

            The last song of the night was Forever Young. Marcus dedicated the song to Jasper, who was celebrating his birthday that evening. Abby couldn’t decide where she wanted to focus her eyes: His flexed biceps as he strummed on his acoustic guitar, on his gorgeous fingers as they changed chords with ease, or his chocolate eyes.

            When the set was over, Marcus thanked the crowd and packed up his guitar as Jasper packed up his cajon. They walked off the stage and said their goodbyes as Jasper left the bar with an older lady, who Abby assumed was his mom.

            “So, what did you think?” Callie’s voice abruptly brought Abby’s attention off of Marcus.

            Not wanting to sound over-eager, because part of her didn’t want Callie to be right, Abby tried acting as nonchalantly as she could. “Oh, it was good. Really, it was just nice getting out of the house.”

            The mood shifted and Callie smiled warmly at her friend. “You have no idea how happy I am that you came, Abby.”

            Abby smiled back and started to reply but the presence of him stopped her in her tracks. She smelled him first before he even said a word. A mixture of pineapple and suede—it was intoxicating. Callie and Diyoza’s eyes were already on him before Abby turned around to meet his gaze.

            “Good evening, ladies.” Marcus Kane stood beside their booth, his face glowing. “Callie, Charmaine, it’s good to see you two again,” Marcus said as he hugged each of them. His eyes then shifted towards Abby, and she felt like a schoolgirl, nervous and barely able to make eye contact with him. _Be an adult_ , she told herself as she braved the brown depths of his eyes.

            “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Marcus said as he offered her his hand. “I’m Marcus.”

            Abby’s heart began to race but she reminded herself to play it cool. “I’m Abby,” she said, accepting his hand and shaking it with a smile. “I’ve heard a few things about you from Callie,” Abby said, vaguely.

            Marcus bit his lip. “Good things, I hope,” he said as he eyed Callie. “She and I go way back.”

            “Mmm. Mostly good things,” Abby teased.

            He made a noise that was not a laugh but not a scoff as he grinned boyishly at Abby. “Can I get you ladies something to drink?”

            “Actually,” Callie said, a slight slur in her voice, “My wife and I should get going. We’ve had enough to drink. Come on, Dr. Diyoza.” Callie slapped Diyoza’s ass as they climbed out of the booth, hugging Marcus goodbye. Abby pulled Callie into a hug and whispered angrily “What the hell are you doing?”

            “Getting you _laid_ ,” Callie whispered back. “Have a good night, you two,” Callie shouted with a winked as she and her wife walked out of the bar, hand-in-hand.

            Abby stood slack-jawed as she watched her friends walk out of the smoky bar, abandoning her with this tall, handsome stranger.

            She had nearly forgotten he was there until the sound of his throat clearing jarred her back to him.

            “How about that drink,” he asked.

            Abby pursed her lips and shook her head. “What the hell,” she said, already making her way back to the booth. “Surprise me,” she called out.

            Soon after, he returned with a neat martini.

            “Oh, thank you,” Abby said, already scarfing down the olives from the drink. She’d spent so much time worrying about the evening, she’d forgotten to eat dinner.

            Marcus took notice and chuckled. “Should I order you a bowl of olives on the side?”

            Abby coughed on an olive, her face burning ever so slightly. “I’m sorry. This is actually my dinner.”

            “You haven’t had dinner?! We’re changing that right now. They have an amazing cheesesteak and fries here.”

            “Oh, God. That sounds so unhealthy but amazing. Just don’t tell Callie. She’ll make me listen to one of her heart-healthy speils again.”

            Marcus grinned and flagged the busy waitress down who had been buzzing around the bar all evening, and ordered Abby’s meal as well as his “usual”.

            The waitress came back with a soda water for Marcus. As she placed the drink on the table, Abby’s narrowed eyes landed on the water.

            “I’m on call,” he explained.

            The waitress told the two that there would be a bit of a wait on the food as they were understaffed. Abby understood, she’d worked her way all through undergrad waitressing tables, and the two thanked the young woman before she rushed off again to flash her best fake smile, just barely doing her best to ignore the plethora of inappropriate comments made by the drunken male patrons.

            “So, Callie tells me you’re in neuro. What’s that like,” Marcus asked as he took a sip from his drink.

            Abby’s eyes widened as she thought back to her week at work for the first time of the evening. She massaged her temples. “Demanding. But rewarding at the same time. Except after a week like I just had.”

            Marcus furrowed his brow, unsatisfied with that response. “Would you like to talk about it?”

            Abby downed her martini. _No_ , she thought. But he was just too nice.

            “I lost a patient—several, actually, over the past week, but this last patient…” She trails off, her mind flashing back to his face and that horrible dream from the night before. Her heart began to race and she clammed up. She began picking at her fingernails as she stared off into the distance, her breathing heavy. She was almost startled when she felt his gentle hand land on top of hers.

            “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” His voice was soft, low, with something about it that never failed to draw her in.

            She sat in thought for a moment, his hand still on top of her own.

            “He was just a kid…” Her words caught in her throat.

            She tried fighting back the tears that welled up in her eyes to no avail. Abby felt his thumb slowly moving back and forth on her hand. She finally allowed her eyes to meet his and she frantically shook her head, her lips pursed as the tears began to fall.

            “It’s okay,” Marcus whispered. “I’ve been there plenty of times. I’m in peds and there’s just something about losing a patient so young,” he shrugged. “The lost potential, the hurt parents. But our job would be hell if we let it get to us too much. I hope you don’t blame yourself. I can already tell that you’re good at your job because you _care_ , but please, Abby, forgive yourself. You did all that you could do.”

            Abby wiped the tears from her face. “I’m sorry, I probably look so stupid right now. It must be the alcohol,” she lied.

            Marcus gave a sympathetic, knowing smile. She could tell, he was telling the truth: he had been there before.

            “It’s alright, Abby. Besides, when do first dates ever go smoothly?”

            Abby choked on her last remaining sip of the gin and vermouth. A cough. “I’m sorry, what?”

            Marcus stopped in his tracks, a pregnant pause as his mouth remained ajar. “Well, yes, I… I’m sorry if I had the wrong impression. I just… I was talking to Callie and—”

            Abby’s eyes narrowed. Callie. _Of course_.

            “I see that look and I’m going to stop talking before I get my friend in trouble,” Marcus said with a nervous laugh.

            “Oh, she’s already in trouble,” Abby remarked. Callie had been trying to play cupid all along. Well, Abby wasn’t going to stand for that. She was her own woman and she wasn’t going to let anyone try to arrange her relationships. But, she was hungry and could almost _taste_ the cheesesteak, not to mention it was nice having a free therapy session with a handsome doctor, so she stayed.

            “I’m really sorry,” Marcus said, breaking the moment of awkward silence.

            “For what? We’re two adults who’ve had a nice evening together. There’s no need for a label and certainly no need for apologies. If anyone should be apologizing it should be me.”

            “You already did, and once again I’ll tell you that it’s okay. I know all too well what you’re going through, Abby. I lost a 10 year old patient during an appendectomy a few years back. An _appendectomy_! I was in the same place you seem to be now after losing that boy. But we have to pull ourselves out of it. For ourselves. For our families. For our patients. We just have to.”

            The two exchanged sympathetic glances. “Thank you, Marcus.”

           Abby’s meal arrived then, freshly prepared, a glass of water to go along with it. In between wolfing down her meal, she and Marcus conversed about their favorite 80s bands and memories from their younger years, most fond, but some not so much. Marcus shared that he once was in a band with 3 of his friends in high school. His best friend and the lead singer in the band died at 17 years old after getting behind the wheel while under the influence. Marcus was going to go out with his friend that night, but his mom had a church function which he attended, albeit begrudgingly. He stated how it still amazes him that if his mom hadn’t made him go to that church service, he could’ve gotten into his friend’s car that night and died.

            “And I never would’ve been able to be here with you as you have your first ever Old Man Frank’s cheesesteak.”

            Abby covered her full mouth as she laughed and took a drink of the cold water.

            “Now _that_ would’ve been a shame.”

            After she finished her meal, Marcus asked if he could walk her home. He offered his hand as she staggered out of the oversized booth, her head spinning slightly from the alcohol. Abby was never a lightweight, but she was clearly out of practice.  

            The 10 minute walk home turned into a 30 minute walk as the two stopped by a coffee shop for a late-night Americano for Marcus and a chocolate cake pop for Abby. Somewhere along the way, the two ended up holding hands during the walk, neither having realized when it happened; their hands having just fallen into position naturally, as if two missing puzzle pieces finally found their way to one another.

            Once they stopped at Abby’s front door, they looked down in unison and noticed their hands. Abby’s face blushed and they both chuckled nervously as they pulled away.

            “I was just wanting to keep you safe on these dark streets,” Marcus joked.

            Abby smiled. “Sure. We’ll go with that.”

            Their laughs faded just as quickly as they came on and they were met with a silence between them, nothing but the sound of a dog barking somewhere far off in the distance. When their eyes met, it was as if they couldn’t unlock. Their breathing began to pick up speed and Marcus’ eyes switched back and forth between Abby’s eyes and her lips. She placed her hands on his chest, closing the small gap between them. Marcus bent down and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes now solely focused on her lips. His lips got closer and closer to her own until…

            BEEP BEEP. Marcus’ pager went off.

            He groaned. “Aw, man. I’ve gotta go. A kid swallowed a LEGO. The life of peds!”

            Abby snickered. “Thanks for tonight, Marcus. I really enjoyed myself.”

            “As did I.”

            They stared into one another’s eyes before Abby made her move. She pulled him by his shirt collar and stood on her tippy toes, kissing him with an amount of passion that could only been aided by the alcohol she’d had that evening. Marcus began to kiss back, sliding his hands from her shoulder blade and finding their home at the small of her back while Abby’s hands rested in his lustrous, dark hair.

            Abby felt him push her away as he caught his breath.

            “As much as I hate this, I really have to go.”

            “I know,” she smiled.

            Marcus kissed her once more, quick but still with deep passion. “And Abby? Please forgive yourself. Take it from someone who knows. Focus on the ones that you’ve saved and the ones that you’re gonna save.” His gentle hand brushed the side of her face before he planted one last kiss on her lips. “Goodnight.”

            “Goodnight,” she said quietly.

            Abby stood with her back against the door as she watched the tall, slender man head back to the bar, flipping his hair out of his face as he crossed the street. Her shaking right hand found the ring around her neck and she felt a pang of guilt shoot through her. With a furrowed brow and a heavy mind, she unlocked her front door and stepped inside.


	5. Stitches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby stitches up a young patient. Callie begs for details on Abby's unexpected date. Diyoza gives a warning.

            It was a rather laidback Monday, much to Abby’s surprise considering it had been a full moon. Her next surgery wasn’t until a few more hours and she had planned to have lunch after her rounds. She’d just finished checking in on her last patient when she heard her name over the PA system.

            “Paging Dr. Griffin to the ER. Dr. Griffin to the ER.”

            “Shit,” she mumbled as she rushed to the elevator. There goes her normal Monday.

            With the elevator in sight, she bumped into cupid herself, Dr. Callie Cartwig.

            “Abby!”

            Abby stifled a groan. She knew what was coming. She turned to face her friend who was smiling ear to ear.

            “Abby, you haven’t responded to my texts!” Callie softly took hold of Abby’s arm and held it, as if she was being held captive.

            “Yeah, I’m sorry, I spent the day with Clarke yesterday. I wasn’t even on my phone.”

            “Well, how was the date?” Callie looked upon her friend with eager eyes, waiting for the juicy details of her Saturday night.

            “Oh? You mean the date that you didn’t tell me was a date? But my _date_ knew it was a date?”

            Callie grimaced and inhaled through gritted teeth. “Yeah… Sorry about that… But you two hit it off, didn’t you?”

            Abby looked at her friend with knowing eyes, a smile creeping up on her face. “I think you already know…”

            Callie stomped her foot. “I want details!”

            “MARCUS TOLD YOU, DIDN’T HE.”

            “Only that you two had a great time! He wouldn’t tell me anything else,” Callie pouted, her shoulders slouched.

            “Well good. It’s nice to know he’s a gentleman.” Abby kissed her friend on the cheek. “I’ve gotta go.”

            “But-“

            “I’ve been paged to the ER. We’ll talk later,” Abby shouted behind her as she rushed onto the elevator just as the doors were about to close.

* * *

 

            “What have we got?”

            “James Reed, 17, MVC, restrained, driver. His vitals are stable. No LOC on the scene. Small scalp laceration.” The young intern, Zach, read from the chart he held in front of him.

            Abby slipped on a pair of non-latex gloves and began to examine the boy, moving his head to each side and shining a light in his eyes.

            She directed her eyes to the intern. “I was called for a small scalp laceration?”

            “Yeah, everyone’s swamped today,” Zach remarked, eyes focused on anything but the blood pouring from the boy’s scalp. Abby rolled her eyes.

            “Hi James. Are you feeling any pain,” Abby asked, her attention focused on the boy once again.

            “Just barely. Where’s my dad?”

            Abby frowned and looked at the intern. The young man was obviously shaken up.

            “His father’s on his way,” Zach replied.

            “Hear that, James? Your dad’s on his way. I’m just gonna check you out here. Let me know if you have _any_ pain, okay?”

            Abby had the boy follow her fingers with his eyes, which he did successfully. She then began to investigate the wound, which was not very deep, but being a scalp wound, it was bleeding quite a bit.

            “Pass me some gauze, please, Zach.”

            Abby used the gauze to soak up as much of the blood as she could, aiding her in getting a better look at the cut. No foreign bodies were found, so she decided to flush it with saline and stitch up the wound.

            “Looks good to me,” Abby said proudly as she removed her bloody gloves, eyeing the stitches.

            “Now I am going to order a head CT due to the trauma, just to be on the safe side. When we get the results for that, which I’m sure will be fine, then you should be out of here in no time,” Abby said as she winked at the young boy.

            “Let his father know the same thing when he arrives and I’ll be back in a bit to check in,” she said to Zach.

            Abby then made her way to the cafeteria to have her lunch and happened to see Dr. Diyoza eating with Dr. Jaha.

* * *

 

            “Abby! Come sit,” Diyoza called.

            Abby, rather reluctantly, placed her tray of food on the table and sat across from the two doctors.

            “Dr. Diyoza,” she said with a smile. “Jaha,” she said coldly.

            “Dr. Griffin,” Jaha greeted her softly with a smile.

            “So, how was your date the other night,” Diyoza asked with a mouthful of turkey club sandwich.

            “Shh. Keep your voice down. I don’t want everyone to know about my private life. And I didn’t even know it was a date! Your wife left that minor detail out when she invited me to join _you two_ to see a show.”

            Jaha sat quietly eating his curry chicken and rice, entertained by the conversation.

            Diyoza shrugged. “Oh please,” she said nonchalantly, “It’s not like I shouted DR. GRIFFIN GOT LAID!”

            Abby’s hand slammed onto the table, her tray and silverware rattling. Her chest and face burned as she felt every eye in the cafeteria land on her. Not even the cafeteria workers made an attempt to stifle their laughter as she began to turn crimson red.

            Diyoza nearly fell off of her seat laughing while Jaha choked on his water.

            She looked at Diyoza with contempt. “I regret saying nice things about you at the wedding.”

            Diyoza smiled cheekily, interlacing her fingers and innocently resting her head on her hands. “You love me.”

            “Yeah, yeah.” Abby decided then to focus more on her lunch, knowing she wasn’t going to have much time before her next surgery.

            Jaha stared off into the distance, deep in thought. He shook his head. “I can’t believe a quarter of the people in this cafeteria may lose their jobs within the next few weeks.”

            Abby’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

            “Wait, you didn’t hear?” Diyoza said in between crunching on her potato chips.

            “Hear what?”

            “The Chief gave an announcement this morning that we’ll be merging with Polis Regional,” Jaha began. “Half of the staff at Polis will lose their jobs and half of the staff here.”

            “Where were you when this was being announced,” Diyoza asked.

            “I must have been in surgery, or I hadn’t came in yet. I’m not sure. But _wow_. Polis, huh?”

            “Meh. Yeah. I’m not too excited about it. Most of the doctors over there are arrogant pricks.”

            “Marcus works there.”

            “My point exactly. I like him, but he’s a prick. I’d stay away if I were you. Let Callie and Marcus down easily.” Before Abby could ask her to elaborate, both Diyoza’s and Jaha’s pagers went off. Diyoza wiped her face with her napkin before balling it up and throwing it onto her tray. She slapped Jaha on the back as she stood.

            “Later, Griffin,” Diyoza said with a nod as she walked away. Jaha followed suit, not saying a word.

* * *

 

            Abby laid on the bottom bunk inside the empty on-call room, her head propped up with two pillows. She’d just finished her 5 hour surgery and everything ached. She just wanted some peace and quiet before making her rounds. Just as she started to doze off, her phone buzzed.

            “Dammit,” she groaned. “I thought I silenced you.”

            She squinted at the glaring light, trying to read its contents.

            “Callie.”

_Callie: I just scrubbed out of my last surgery of the day. An epic CABG, btw! Go me! So anyway, I was wondering if you have some time to catch me up on your date with Marky Mark? ;)_

            Abby nearly threw up in her mouth.

_Abby: Marky Mark? Please tell me that’s not actually a thing. I’m in our regular on-call room. I don’t plan to get up until my rounds. Come to me._

            And she did. 

            Callie enthusiastically plopped down onto the bed, slapping Abby’s knee on her way down.

            “No, Marky Mark isn’t a thing, and I regretted it as soon as I typed it. So, now _please_ give me the details!”

            Abby placed her feet on Callie’s lap and sat up, placing the pillows behind her back. She took a deep breath and sighed.

            “Where to begin,” Abby said in thought, tutting her tongue. “Oh, I guess I can start with when my best friend ABANDONED me with a complete stranger when it was supposed to be our girl’s night out!”

            Callie sneered. “He wasn’t a _complete_ stranger, he’d introduced himself before I left! And besides, we came, we drank, we watched him SANG his ass off, our girl’s night was complete! Like I said, I was being a good friend and trying to get you laid. What this good friend wants to know now is, was I successful?”

            Abby somewhat lost her train of thought half-way through, thinking of the cleanest and quietest way she could murder her best friend without getting caught. At the sound of the inflation in Callie’s voice, Abby recognized that she was just asked a question, jolting her back to reality.

            “Huh?”

            “Was I successful?”

            “Successful at what?”

            “Jesus, Abby, have you even been listening? Did you and Marcus fuck or not? I need to know how my matchmaking skills are, I could be a little rusty, but—”

            “ _No_ , we didn’t fuck!” Abby sighed, knowing her friend wasn’t going to let up until she was given all of the dirty details. “I probably scared him off.”

            “What?! Why?”

            “Well, I started talking about work—”

            “Your first mistake.”

            “Yes. I know. And I broke down. I had such a shit-filled week and he asked me what my job was like, it was hard _not_ to talk about it. He was kind, compassionate, and a good listener. But I just can’t see him wanting a second date after that disaster. I mean, he didn’t even ask for my number.”

            “I can definitely help you with the number issue. Tell me this: was there any chemistry?”

            Abby snorted. “More than I could have ever imagined.”

            “Did you kiss,” Callie asked in a lowered voice, eyes widened.

            Abby bit her lip and smirked. “I don’t kiss and tell,” she said, arching an eyebrow.

            “Yes you do! Now tell me!”

            “Okay, so maybe I do. I could’ve kissed him all night and probably would have if that kid didn’t swallow a LEGO.” There was a tinge of bitterness in Abby’s voice, much to her dismay. Had she really become so desperately horny that she was angry at an injured child for interrupting her date?

            Callie snickered. “That’s peds for ya. I could _never_. Clarke is the only kid I like. Which is further proof that Marcus is a great guy!”

            “You _better_ like her, you are her godmother, after all!” A pregnant pause. “I wanted to talk to you about something Charmaine said to me earlier… She didn’t seem to happy about me spending time with Marcus. She didn’t have great things to say about him.”

            “Oh, she’s just being overprotective. Ignore her.”

            “But why would she feel the need to be overprotective?”

            Callie held her mouth open for a moment, words failing to escape.

            “Callie?” There was a hint of nervousness in Abby’s voice.

            Callie sighed. “Marcus has garnered a bit of a reputation as a womanizer at Polis.”

            “Oh, Callie,” Abby groaned. “Oh no…”

            “No! Hear me out! He’s _single_ , Abby, and you know men… I would have _never_ tried to set you two up if I didn’t think you two could have a relationship. Marcus has mentioned to me that he’s ready for something serious. That’s what made me decide to introduce you two. You’re a grown-ass woman, Abby. If you liked him, see him again. Don’t let my overprotective wife deter you. So… Do you _want_ to see him again?”

            Abby pondered on it. She felt things that one evening with Marcus that she’d never felt before, not even with Jake. It was new, it was refreshing, but it was also terrifying. She’d had her heart broken once before, if Diyoza ended up being right, and Abby develops feelings for Marcus only to be left high and dry, she wasn’t sure she’d ever want to try to love again.

            “Yeah, I would… You said he told you that he had a nice time?”

            “Yes, he did.”

            “Did he seem like he meant that? Because honestly, if I were him, I wouldn’t want a second date. I was a complete mess.”

            Callie snorted. “Of _course_ he meant it.”

            Abby sat in thought for a moment. She sighed. Callie’s right. She’s a grown-ass woman. She’s grown tired of being scared. She wanted to live a little. “Fine. Give him my number. We’ll see what happens.”

            Callie squealed. “YES! This makes me so happy! I’m sure you’ll be hearing from him soon. Kay, I’m off to grab lunch. Have you ate?”

            “Yeah, I actually had lunch today with Charmaine. Jaha was there, too.” Abby made a face.

            Callie gave a half-smile. “I know it’s hard, Abby, but Thelonious is a good guy and a fantastic doctor. He did all that he could—”

            “Just stop, Callie. I love you, but stop.”

            Callie simply nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you later. Expect to hear from Marcus,” she said with a wink as she left the on-call room.

            Abby checked the time on her phone. There went her time for a quick nap. She was late for her rounds.

* * *

 

            Abby met up with her intern, Zach, and completed her rounds. He seemed to finally be getting the hang of the process. Reading off of the chart, switching eye contact between doctors and patient, not fumbling over his words. He had come a long way. She began to beam with pride as she thought about how far he had come in such a short amount of time. She made a note to tell him how proud she was of him, but not just yet. She had made that mistake before and it always seemed that the interns make a turn for the worst once acknowledged that they aren’t a total disappointment. _Keep him humble_ , she thought. Abby smiled to herself. It was a relief to finally have a successful day of work. No dead patients, no fuck ups, and no cigarettes since the dreadful night in the parking lot last week.

            After her rounds, she finished up on some paperwork before changing out of her scrubs for the night. She was on-call, but if she wasn’t called back in, she wouldn’t have to be back at work until the next evening. Pathetically, she made plans to go home and wait for a text from Marcus. She hoped to herself that she wasn’t going to regret it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I apologize for the slight delay. I haven't been feeling myself lately and haven't liked my writing. As always, kudos & comments are appreciated and if you have any advice on how I can improve please reach out to me <3


	6. Red, Red Wine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby awaits a text. Clarke and Abby have a heart to heart. Abby and Marcus grow closer.
> 
> A special thanks to Joana and Kendra for the help and advice! And of course thanks to everyone who reads and comments, it's a big encouragement for me <3

            Abby Griffin arrived home from work around 5 o’clock in the evening. After a long but successful day of work, she was ready for some relaxation. She put her new black Lexus in park which still smelled of “new car” and trudged up the steps into her home. She had already made plans on doing nothing until work the next day and she fully intended to see those plans through.

            She was greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies as she opened the front door. Oatmeal chocolate chip: her specialty.

            “Something smells delicious! Did you use my recipe?” Abby kissed her daughter on the top of her head. Clarke sat on a barstool at the kitchen island, AP geometry and AP literature papers strewn about.

            “Yep. _And_ I made grilled cheese!”

            “You’re really coming along with this cooking thing. Great job, sweetie.”

            Abby made a failed attempt at picking up a cookie, still warm from the oven, and shook her hand as she quickly brought her burnt finger to her mouth for relief, the cookie plopping back onto the plate and breaking into pieces. Clarke, who had her eyes on her textbooks, never noticed.

            “How was school,” Abby asked as she grabbed a sparkling water from the fridge. She sat down beside her daughter.

            Clarke finished off the last of her grilled cheese and washed it down with a drink of Dr. Pepper.

            “Great. I had driving class today,” she said casually.

            “Oh?”

            Clarke bite her lip and looked at Abby with her large eyes, the same way she would as a little mischievous girl. Abby knew what came next was not going to be good.

            “How many cones did you hit,” Abby asked, knowingly.

            “Eleven,” Clarke said sheepishly.

            “Out of?”

            “Eleven.”

            Abby sighed, defeated. “Oh, Clarke.”

            “It’s the car! It has _so_ many blind spots!”

            “Every car will have blind spots, Clarke!” With a sigh, Abby shook her head yet began to chuckle.

            “We’ll practice some more on my next day off from work.”

            “Oh? No plans with Marcus?”

            “Who-?”

            “Callie told me.”

            “Of course she did.”

            “So… Have you heard from him?”

            Abby gulped. “I’m really not comfortable talking about this with you.”

            “ _Why_? You pry for information about me and Bell!”

            Abby stopped and smirked. “ _Bell_? Since when are we using nicknames?”

            “See what I mean,” Clarke retorted, rolling her eyes.

            “Okay, fine, I’ll stop prying. I just met Marcus that one evening and haven’t seen him since, so there’s nothing to talk about really.”

            “Alright, but if it ever does become something to talk about, I’m here. I’m not a kid anymore, mom. You’re my best friend and I want to be here for you during this new phase of your life.”

            Abby’s heart warmed at her daughter’s words, swelling with pride at the woman Clarke is quickly becoming yet feeling conflicted, wishing that Jake could see the woman that she is growing into. She stood and embraced Clarke, kissing her cheek.

            “Your dad would be so proud of you.”

            Clarke smiled. “Maybe not of my driving skills, though…”

            “We’ll keep working on it,” Abby said in a laugh.

            Their laughs faded but Clarke’s smile remained. "Are you going to see him again?”

            “I thought we just agreed we wouldn’t pry.”

            “I just want to be prepared if a new guy is going to be entering my life soon. Also, I’ll need his first and last name so I can complete a criminal background check and put his name into Ancestry.com.”

            Abby snorted. “I appreciate the concern but I think he’s safe.”

            Just in time, Abby’s phone dinged. Clarke drew her attention back to her textbooks as Abby searched through her handbag for her cell phone. Abby’s hand fumbled over a pack of gum, spare change, and a hair brush before making its grips around her phone. A text message from an unsaved number flashed across its screen.

            _Hey Abby. It’s Marcus. Callie gave me your number. I just wanted to reach out and say that I had a great time with you the other night—no you did not scare me off. ; ) I’d like to do it again sometime soon. I know it’s short notice, but I’m off today. If you’d like to grab a late dinner tonight, let me know. If not, pick a date and time and I’ll make it work!_

Abby cleared her throat and read the message two more times before typing a reply.

            _Marcus, when and where tonight? Abby x_

            The two agreed to meet at the nicest Italian restaurant in Blythewood that didn’t require reservations. The agreed upon time was 7:30 and naturally Abby was there at 7:22. To her surprise, Marcus was standing outside waiting. She approached him from behind, clearing her throat to get his attention.

            “Abby,” he said enthusiastically. He pulled her in for a warm embrace. “It’s good to see you again.”

            Abby smiled. He smelled so damn good. “It’s good to sm- see you again, too.” She bit her lip and hoped that he didn’t notice her near-Freudian slip.

            “So… Inside or outside,” Marcus asked.

            She pondered for a moment. “Outside. It’s quieter.”

            Marcus nodded, sporting his boyish smile. “Outside it is.”

            The two were seated at a small table under a large white umbrella. The restaurant had a black and white theme and was lined with white globe string lights which stood out from the black painted brick building.

            The couple was unintentionally dressed to perfectly fit the restaurant’s theme as Marcus wore slim black dress pants, a white button up, and an opened black blazer and Abby wore a short black dress that hugged her in all the right places, revealing just the right amount of cleavage for Abby’s liking.

            The waitress served them their waters and they placed their orders.

            “I hope you like Italian food,” Marcus said after the waitress left the table.

            “I do. My ancestors from my father’s side are from Italy, actually. My grandfather was born there.”

            “Oh, that’s so interesting! Do you still have a lot of family that live over there?”

            “Some aunts, uncles, cousins. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like to because of my work schedule but Clarke and I did make our way over there a couple years ago… What about you? Do you like Italian?”

            Marcus took a sip of water before replying. “Oh, I love Italians,” he said cheekily.

            Abby nearly choked on her water and let out a loud laugh.

            “You meant food? Do I like Italian _food_? Oh I’m so embarrassed,” Marcus joked, shielding his face with his hands.

            Abby’s laugh died down but her face was still beaming. “You’re fun.”

            Marcus bit his bottom lip and smiled. “Why, thank you. I try to be. It’s especially helpful since I work with kids all day.”

            “Do you have any kids of your own?”

            “No, I don’t. I always wanted them but I just never found the right person to settle down with. I’m still holding onto that dream but I’m 45 now so I’m not holding on too strong. How about yourself?”

            “I have a daughter. Clarke. She’s 16. Extremely intelligent, good head on her shoulders, beautiful inside and out.”

            “That’s amazing,” Marcus smiled. “Sounds like she takes after her mom.”

            Abby reciprocated and smiled back, “Thank you.”

            Marcus rubbed his neck. “So, tomorrow is my last day at Arkadia. I start at Griffin Memorial on Wednesday.”

            “Oh wow. I hadn’t realized it was so soon. And in the middle of the week, too.”  

            “Mm,” Marcus agreed as he took a drink from his water. “I guess we’re going to be coworkers now. Hopefully seeing me around so much won’t make you sick of me.”

            Abby scoffed. “I can’t see that happening.”

            The two smiled silently at one another. Abby found it difficult to look away from his dark eyes. Despite the attraction, what Diyoza told her at lunch was still eating at her. Her heart raced as she began to speak.

            “So, do you get along well with your coworkers,” she asked. Her mouth suddenly felt like a desert so she took a few drinks of water to help alleviate the dryness.

            “I suppose so. We have disagreements like all coworkers do, but overall I’m a pretty peaceful guy.”

            “So… Are you… _close_ to a lot of them—the people you work with?”

            “Uh, I guess you could say that. I’m good friends with a few of them. I know you’re friends with Callie and Charmaine, but are you close with any of your other coworkers?”

            “Not… really. I used to be close with another coworker but… It’s a long story.”

            “Hmm, workplace romance gone wrong?”

            “Goodness no,” Abby snorted.

            Marcus pursed his lips, amused, and scratched his beard. “If you say so.”

            Abby found her opportunity. “Have you ever had any workplace romances?”

            Marcus looked surprised, but not at all offended by the question. He nodded.

            “Flings is all. Mostly with nurses, admittedly. I’ve slowed down a lot the past few years. That was only when I was single. I’ve never been unfaithful in a relationship.”        

            “That’s nice to hear.” Abby took a drink from her water then ran her thumb over the sweat dripping from the glass. In attempts to break the silence, she began the small talk once again.

            “Are you originally from Baltimore?”

            “I was born in New Jersey but we moved to Baltimore when I was 13 to the Dundalk area. Where are you from?”

            “I was born in Bradenton, Florida and lived there until I moved here for college and I decided to stick around. My mom still lives in Florida. Clarke and I go down and visit her at least twice a year if I can get off work. I hate that she lives so far away but she loves it there.”

            “That must be hard living so far away from your mom.”

            “It is. Where in New Jersey are you from?”

            “Somers Point. I grew up going to the beach every summer. I think that’s why I love the beach so much. I’m jealous of your mom living in Florida, I have to admit. That’s where I want to retire to someday, if I ever retire. Playing shuffle board in my Bermuda shorts is how I want to leave this world.”

            Abby held her stomach as she laughed, tears welling up in her eyes as she formed a hilarious mental image of Marcus playing shuffle board at 80. She wiped the tears from her eyes to find him staring at her, “Did you meet your husband at the hospital?”

            Abby tried to remember if she had told him about Jake or not. Wanting to save herself from looking like a fool had she’d actually mentioned it and simply forgot, she decided to go along with it.

            “I met him in med school, actually. We interned at different places but eventually ended up working together at the hospital. I got pregnant during my last year of med school, Jake had graduated the year prior. We had a tiny, quiet wedding, rushed because of the pregnancy. I guess you could say it was a shotgun wedding, but no actual guns were involved,” she snickered then took a sip of water. “It was extremely difficult us both being aspiring doctors and raising a baby but we had a great support team of family and friends. My mom stayed with us during Clarke’s early years. What was supposed to be a 2 month visit turned into 2 years. It nearly killed her when she finally moved back to Florida.”

            “I can’t imagine how difficult that had to have been for all of you, but from what you’ve told me, it sounds like you did a great job raising Clarke. She sounds like a fantastic young lady.”

            “She is,” Abby nodded. “So what about you? Do your parents live nearby?”

            “My mom lives right down the street from me in Wyndhurst. My father passed away when I was young. He was a lot older than my mom and didn’t take care of himself.”

            “Oh, I’m sorry to hear. My father passed away when I was 2 years old. It’s hard growing up without a dad. Did your mom ever remarry?”

            “No. Well, yes. She was married for a while to a man who I called my dad but he was an asshole. After that, she said she’d never get married again. For a while she had an on-again, off-again romance with a deacon at her church, but I just realized that I wasn’t supposed to talk about that.” He clinched his teeth and covered his face, laughing. Abby couldn’t help but laugh at how fun and animated he could be while also being serious when necessary.

            “What about your mom,” he asked, his attentive eyes looking her over, as if they were trying to read her story on her face before she even told it.

            “My mom never remarried. I worry about her living far away but she has a nice group of friends from church who take good care of her, so it helps ease the worry a bit.”

            “That’s good to hear.”

            Marcus smiled warmly at her and Abby couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful curl of his dark brown hair that fell into his face ever so slightly. The more that they stared at one another, the higher Abby’s body temperature began to rise. She wasn’t sure if it was the lighting, his outfit, _him_ , or a combination of the three, but she was wanting him more than she did the night they kissed at her doorstep. She wasn’t even sure how that was possible.

            The meals arrived and the small talk continued over spaghetti and chicken parmigiana. Abby bragged on Clarke and how she was an AP student, Marcus shared how he has two sisters and a younger brother. One sister lives in Baltimore, the other in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, while the brother lives in Vancouver.

            “They all have families,” Marcus added. “My mom is always asking me when I’m going to get married and have a family. I joke and tell her that you can’t rush perfection. My oldest sister has been divorced twice, my brother got married right out of high school and that marriage _might_ have lasted a year, but that’s pushing it. When, or if, I get married someday, I want to know in my heart of hearts that I’m with who I’m supposed to be with. I don’t want to get married just because that’s society’s expectation of me, you know?”

            “I think that’s very noble of you.”

            “Noble, that’s nice. My sister says I have commitment issues,” he gave a derisive scoff.

            Abby smiled down at her plate of half eaten chicken and moved a piece of the meat around in the sauce. Was what he just shared a red flag or a mere anecdotal sibling rivalry? She wasn’t sure.

            Once the entrée plates were cleared, Abby requested to see their dessert wine menu. When Marcus politely declined Abby’s offer for him to browse the menu, she bore an inquisitive look on her face.

            “Not a fan of wine?”

            “Not a fan of alcohol. I don’t drink.”

            “Oh… I’m- I don’t have to order it if you-”

            “Abby, it’s fine. I’m not an alcoholic, it’s just a personal choice of mine that I made after my friend died in high school. The choice was for _me_ , not for everyone around me. Drink away. I’m hoping those adorable flushed cheeks will return this time around.”

            Abby chuckled bashfully. “That usually takes more than a glass of wine.”

            “Well, help yourself to as much as you’d like. On me.”

            Abby ordered a chocolate molten cake and a glass of cabernet sauvignon while Marcus ordered a tiramisu. One glass of wine for Abby turned into 3 in under an hour as the conversation continued. She began to feel more carefree and she could feel her head slightly spin and her filter, which was perfectly intact when she was sober, began to crumble. As Marcus was finishing up his tiramisu, which he ate unusually slowly, Abby figured because he didn’t want the date to end, she began laughing to herself.

            “What is it,” Marcus asked, amused at her nearly crying from spontaneous laughter.

            “It’s just, I’ve had such a great time with you. I don’t know why Charmaine was so damn worried.”

            “Charmaine was worried?”

            Abby’s wine glass-filled hand froze in midair, almost making it to her mouth. “Uh oh,” was all the tipsy woman could muster.

            “Why would she be worried?”

            “She said you were a womanizer,” Abby said in a slightly slurred voice.

            Marcus furrowed his brow and scoffed. “You believed her? Is that what the questions about my coworkers and workplace romances were all about.”

            “Hey, technically _you_ started the workplace romance conversation. But yes, admittedly it did have me slightly concerned. I mean, I’d only met you the one date, which was cut short because a kid swallowed a LEGO-”

            “Because I had to go save a kid’s life, you mean.” Marcus began to grow mildly annoyed, shaking his leg and fidgeting with his glass of water, twisting it around and around.

            “Well, yes, yes that’s what I meant. Peds is an amazing field, Marcus, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

            Marcus forced a smile before reaching for his wallet. “It’s getting late.” He silently flagged the waitress down and pulled out two fifty dollar bills, leaving them on the table.

            “Keep the change,” he said to the waitress. He pushed himself from his chair and made his way around to Abby, offering her his hand. Despite feeling horribly embarrassed, she accepted his hand.

            “Let’s get you home,” he said. “Did you drive or walk?”

            “I walked, I live just a couple blocks from here.”

            “I remember. If you don’t mind, though, I’d like to drive you.”

            “It’s okay, I’m not drunk, I’m fine.”

            “Abby, please?”

            Abby sighed. “Where’s your car?”

            “Follow me.”

            He offered his arm and she wrapped her own arm around it. He led her to a black Mercedes-Benz and searched for the key fob in his pocket. Unlocking the car with the key fob, he opened Abby’s door and helped her inside the small sports car.

            As he sat down and started the car, Abby looked around the inside.

            “Well, now I definitely know you don’t have any children.”

            “Because it’s such a small car?”

            “Because it’s actually _clean_!”

            Marcus snorted as he pulled the car onto the road.

            “Look, I’m really sorry about tonight. And I’m extremely embarrassed. Getting tipsy two dates in a row is not a good look on me. Hell, last weekend was the first time I’d had a drop of alcohol in 6 years.”

            Marcus snorted. “In that case, you’ve handled it pretty well. And it’s okay. Really. I was the one who told you to drink up. I’m sorry, too. My whole career, I’ve had people constantly question my being in peds. I get defensive sometimes even when people don’t mean any harm, and for that I apologize.”

            Abby smiled. “Look at us, being adults and communicating. Apologizing. Admitting we were wrong.”       

            “It took me a _long_ time and a lot of working on myself to get to this place in my life,” he said in a laugh.

            “Some never get there.”

            Marcus’ mouth opened but nothing came out. He was hesitating but Abby wasn’t sure why. Finally, he spoke.

            “I’m off on Saturday. Are you free? To maybe come over to my place and have dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast. It doesn’t always have to be dinner,” he chuckled, nervously.

            Abby smiled. “After two, what I’d call disastrous dates on my end, you actually are asking me out again? To your house, at that?”

            “I’m sorry if that’s too forward. But when I say dinner, I really do mean _just_ dinner. There’s no hidden meaning like that whole Netflix and Chill saying I see online.”

            “Huh?”

            “Never mind,” he laughed. “So… What do you say?”

            “How about breakfast? That way we’ll have the entire day together.”

            “Breakfast,” Marcus repeated, nodding his head. “Sounds good to me. I’m great at making waffles.”

            “Oh, I love waffles! With chocolate chips in them!”

            Marcus smiled, biting his bottom lip, slowing the car to a stop once they made it to Abby’s place. “You seem to enjoy chocolate.”

            “It’s the fastest way to my heart,” Abby said, without thinking.

            “I’ll keep that in mind.” Marcus said in a low, flirtatious tone as he put the car in park. She could feel the heat in his eyes as he looked her up and down, his eyes landing on her cleavage more than once.

            Abby pursed her lips and she could feel her cheeks flush. Marcus placed his hand on her seat and leaned over, brushing the loose strand of hair from her face before planting his soft lips onto hers. With every passing second, their kiss deepened even more. She rested her hands in his beard as she took all of him in. His taste, his smell. God, he still smelled _so_ good. Abby wanted to stay there all night kissing him, but when the front light came on, she knew that much to her chagrin, it was time for her to go inside. Clarke was most likely watching her from the front window. She broke away from the kiss, although she took her time doing so. Marcus didn’t want it to end, either, as he kept coming in for more quick kisses. Abby moaned.

            “Clarke’s probably watching us. I should get going.”

            Marcus exhaled. “I had a great time tonight, Abby. Thank you. See you soon.”

            “See you,” she said before kissing him one last time.

            Breakfast might not be _just_ breakfast after all. At least, not if Abby got her way.

 


	7. Helpless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Sandy, I hope you feel better soon! Breakfast chapter will be served up hot and ready this weekend. In the meantime, enjoy Marcus' first day at Griffin Memorial!

_Wednesday morning_

_Griffin Memorial Hospital_

_8:31 A.M._

            Chief Miller stood at the top of the stairs, facing the hospital staff as they looked on from down below. Abby glanced at her watch, it was almost time for her rounds. She hoped his speech wasn’t going to take long.

            “Good morning, everyone. I’d like to welcome our new staff from Arkadia Hospital. The blue scrubs are on backorder currently so you can recognize them based on their black scrubs for now. If you see an unfamiliar face in black scrubs, please be sure to give them a warm welcome to Griffin Memorial. It’s a large hospital but we’re like a family here. Now you know me, I like to keep things short and sweet so good luck out there on your first day. There’s donuts and coffee in the breakroom.”

            _Short and sweet_ , Abby laughed to herself. Miller very rarely kept things short. Much to Abby’s surprise, his speech did in fact end there and he walked up the stairs to his office. Abby turned to Callie who had been standing next to her.

            “Well, time for my rounds.”

            “Wait!”

            Abby sighed. She knew Callie was just going to want more details about Marcus.

            “Yes, Callie?”

            “Are you going to see Marcus again?”

            “I mean, he works here now so I’m sure I’d-”

            “You _know_ what I mean.”

            “Hmph. Well, if you must know, we do have plans for breakfast on Saturday.”

            “Breakfast?” Callie seemed nearly offended. “Nothing hot and sexy happens during _breakfast_!”

            “Can you lower your voice,” Abby asked sternly.

            Callie obliged. “Breakfast for a second date? You’re already starting to sound like an elderly couple.”

            “This will be the third date, actually.”

            “WHAT?!”

            “Shh!”

            “ _Third_ date,” Callie asked in a loud whisper. “You’ve been keeping secrets from me?”

            “We went out Monday night after I got off from work. I was so swamped, I didn’t even see you yesterday.”

            “You have a phone, Abby. Use it!”

            “Okay, sorry for holding out information from you, Cupid, but I really do need to go.”

            Abby turned away from Callie intending to go off on her rounds when she caught a glimpse of his tall, slender yet built figure in her eye. She turned her head to face him, standing in his black scrubs, beard neatly trimmed, his dark hair combed back. He was surrounded by a plethora of nurses, young and old. Whatever he was saying, they were greatly intrigued. It most likely didn’t matter what he was saying, anyway, because they were certainly focusing on something other than his story. Abby made haste in their direction, intrigued on what all of the fuss was about.

            “I love peds because you get to do it all,” he said to the crowd of drooling women, young and old alike. “Cardio, ortho, general. Their whole body is your tiny canvas.”

 _Oh how poetic,_ Abby thought. He was really working the crowd.

            She cleared her throat and smiled up at him. He turned to face her and joy washed over his face.

            “Abby,” he exclaimed, embracing her into a tight, friendly hug. He turned back to face the crowd of women who mostly were now wearing a pinched face, while others simply began to straggle away as soon as he stopped talking.

            “It was nice meeting you all,” he said, addressing the crowd before turning back to face Abby. “How are you?”

            “I’m great! I’m just off to do my rounds. You seem to be pretty popular around here already.”

            “Well, I’m a likeable guy. I save kids’ lives for a living. Nobody likes a dead kid.”

            “You have a point there. You’re certainly likeable, I can attest to that. So, how’s your first day so far?”

            “Oh, a little slow at the moment. I was going to head to the breakroom for a donut and a cup of coffee before my rounds later. I’m working with Dr. Cerra today, the chief of peds. Arkadia wasn’t a teaching hospital so I think it’s beneficial for me to work under her for a while until I get settled in.”

            “Dr. Cerra… She’s… You’re working… under her,” Abby stammered.

            Marcus chuckled. “Yes, do you think that will be okay?”

            “Oh, yes! She’s a great surgeon. She’ll teach you a lot. But don’t let her teach you too much.” Abby made a failed attempt at stifling an awkward laugh causing it come out even more awkwardly.

            “Are you jealous?” Marcus stood with his hands in his pockets, wearing a smug look that Abby wanted to just kiss right off.

            “Jealous,” she scoffed. “I…”

            “ _Abby_ , remember what we talked about? Communication?”

            “Okay, fine. But I’m not jealous just… worried. She’s a very beautiful woman.”

            “Yes, she is a beautiful woman.”

            Abby’s eyes widened, his statement leaving her speechless.

            “ _But_ ,” he continued, “she’s not you. So, please don’t worry. And don’t be late for your rounds.”

            He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead before rushing off to grab a donut before the herd of interns and nurses gobbled them all up.

            Abby turned to see Callie beaming with joy. Abby thought she even saw tears in her eyes. Abby couldn’t help but shake her head.

            “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

            “You two are just _so_ cute! He kissed you on the forehead! Ugh! And the height difference! Ah! I need to think of a ship name for you two… Mabby, maybe?”

            “A ship name? What’s that?”

            “Oh Abby, haven’t you been on Twitter before?”

            “I barely know how to turn on my phone.”

            “Well, we’ll change that. So, a ship name is where you put two people’s names together when they’re a couple. Like Brangelina.”

            Abby furrowed her brow and stared at Callie with bewilderment.

            “People decided on mine and Char’s ship name to be Callieoza. I think it’s got a nice ring to it.”

            Abby, still not understanding, stood with her mouth open and her head tilted to the side. She looked at Callie strangely and merely nodded.

            “I’m late for my rounds,” was all she could muster, leaving Callie standing in place, still smiling.

            Just before her first patient of the day, she hears an unfamiliar voice call her name.

            “Dr. Griffin!”

            She turned to see a young bearded man in black scrubs running to greet her. He appeared out of breath.

            “Yes?”

            “Dr. Griffin, I’m Eric Jackson, um, Dr. Eric Jackson. I’m a new intern from Arkadia. I’ve been assigned to your service today.”

            Abby smiled warmly at the young man. “Dr. Eric Jackson, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Abby Griffin.”

            “Oh, I know. I’ve read all of your medical journals. It’s really fascinating stuff. You’re one of a kind-”

            Abby’s laugh cut him off. “Alright, that’s enough. Thank you Dr. Jackson.”

            “You can call me Eric,” he smiled at her like an excited child.

            “In that case, when it’s just the two of us, you may call me Abby. So, as you may know, this is a teaching hospital so you will be assisting me today as I walk you through everything.”

            “I can’t wait! I’m a little nervous, though.”

            “First days are always tough,” Abby said sympathetically.

            “Yeah, and it’s just that… Well, I’m dating the Chief’s son. I want to make a good impression, you know?”

            Abby opened her mouth wide with shock. “You’re dating Nathan? Oh, he’s a wonderful guy!”

            “He really is,” Jackson smiled ear to ear.

            “I’m happy for you both. I’m sure you’ll do great today. Let’s get to work. Follow me!”

* * *

            “Hi Alex, I’m Dr. Cerra, this is Dr. Kane, we’ll be taking care of you today.”

            Marcus Kane stood beside Dr. Cerra at the foot of Alex’s bed. He was a 15 year old boy who had been to the ER five times in one month complaining of pain.

            “It hurts all over,” Alex said with tear-filled eyes, his breathing shallow. His mother Paige held his hand and stroked his sweaty blonde hair.

            “He never sleeps. _I_ never sleep. Please, help us. We’re desperate. The doctors say it’s growing pains and they can’t find anything else wrong with him. But I know growing pains, doctor, and it ain’t that. He was up all night last night vomiting,” Paige said, growing visibly emotional with every passing second. “I didn’t go to school for this stuff. I majored in history, for goodness sakes. You’re the doctors. We _need_ you.”

            “It was right of you to come in,” Marcus said reassuringly. “We’re going to do everything we can to find the cause of Alex’s pain.”

            Marcus completed a quick physical exam revealing that Alex’s body temperature was at 101 degrees Fahrenheit.

            He exhaled. “Well Alex, this is certainly not growing pains. You both did a good thing coming in and not taking no for an answer. Be back in just a moment.”

            Marcus nodded to Dr. Cerra and led her out of the room.

            “That kid needs a 3D MRI,” Marcus whispered.

            “But there’s no indication that he needs an MRI, and with the mother’s insurance, that approval could take weeks.”

            “He’s in pain. He needs us. His mother needs us. Let’s do the damn MRI. Trust me. Indication or not, we’ll find something there. I just know it.”

            Marcus towered over the younger woman and despite him not meaning to, he realized he was beginning to raise his voice. He adjusted himself to appear friendlier, changing his tone.

            “I’ll pay for it myself if I have to.”

            “Dr. Kane, it’s your first day. Are you really going to overstep like this?”

            “If doing the right thing is overstepping then yes, whether it be my first day or my hundredth day here, I refuse to stand by and send this kid home _once again_ without answers because our healthcare system in this country is so fucked up.”

            Dr. Cerra sighed, visibly frustrated. “Do you have $5,000? Because that’s how much that scan will cost. The hospital is having to do budget cuts already.”

            “I’ll write a check. Do the MRI.”

            Dr. Cerra nodded hesitantly and she and Dr. Kane proceeded to go back into Alex’s room to inform he and his mother that they will be running a 3D MRI to try to pinpoint what exactly is causing his pain.

            “Now, this isn’t guaranteed we’ll find anything,” Marcus added, doing his best to ignore Dr. Cerra’s sidelong glance. “However, I do think it’ll be a step in the right direction.”

            Paige sniffled, afraid to be relieved. “Well, how much is that going to cost? I can barely afford the damn co-pay.”

            “You don’t worry about that, Ms. Tucker, we’ll take care of it. We just want to help Alex get better.”

            Marcus had finished his rounds and was having lunch in the cafeteria as he awaited the results of Alex’s scans. Just as he’d sat down, he noticed Abby walk in.

            “Dr. Griffin,” he called, waving at Abby.

            She gave him a friendly wave and joined him once she’d gotten her food.

            “Hey, how’s it going?”

            Marcus exhaled tiredly. “The healthcare system in this country beats all I’ve ever seen…”

            “It’s sad, isn’t it?”

            “Mm,” he agreed as he finished off his meatloaf.

            “There you are,” Dr. Cerra said, approaching Marcus from behind, MRI scans in hand. She slapped them on the table in front of him.

            “The scans showed nothing. That’ll still cost you $5,000.”

            “Are you kidding me?”

            “Hey, it’s a gamble when you try to treat a hospital like a charity.”

            “That’s _not_ what I mean. It’s just… I was so sure,” his voice became a low, defeated whisper as he held the scans up towards the light, squinting to get a good look.

            “Wait, isn’t that something right there,” he pointed.

            “I thought so, too, but the radiologist said it was nothing,” Dr. Cerra said. “I’m off on break, I’ll catch you later.”

            Marcus gave Dr. Cerra a parting wave, still concentrating on the scans.

            “May I,” Abby asked, offering her hand for the scans.

            Marcus obliged and handed them over.

            Abby mirrored Marcus and held the scans up for a better look.

            “Yeah, there’s definitely something there, but we’d need to run another scan.”

            “A myelogram,” Marcus asked.

            “That’s what I’m thinking,” Abby said, setting the scans down back in front of Marcus.

            He sighed. “The MRI is already going to cost me $5,000 because the hospital’s budget cuts and the mother’s insurance would have taken weeks to approve the scan. If I order another test, I could be fired and it’s my first day, I’d prefer to last at least a week before I get fired.”

            “Don’t worry about it, Marcus. I’ll order the scan.”

            “But-”

            “Don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness. There’s definitely something there. I’ll deal with Chief after we help this kid. He needs the scan.”

            “Thank you,” Marcus said, relieved.

            They finished their lunches and Abby ordered for Alex to have a myelogram immediately.

            While sitting inside the control room watching Alex receive his scan, Marcus couldn’t take his eyes off of Abby. She caught him looking and smiled at him.

            “What,” she asks in a sheepish laugh.

            He shrugged. “You’re amazing.”

            “As are you,” she said, deflecting. “Not many people would have stood up to Dr. Cerra like that. You did the right thing, fighting for the patient.”

            “Thank you,” Marcus grinned. “I just hope we can find what’s wrong with him.”

            “What?”      

* * *

             “A tethered spine,” Abby repeated. “It’s a neurological disorder caused by tissue that limit the movement of the spinal cord. Basically, a small piece of tissue that’s attached to the spine that shouldn’t be.”

            “I know what it is, I’m just shocked. No wonder the poor kid is in so much pain.”

            Abby nodded. “Let’s go speak to Alex. Page Dr. Cerra.”

            “On it,” Marcus said, already reaching for his pager.

            Standing outside Alex’s room, the two fill in Dr. Cerra on what they found on the scans.

            “Ballsy of you both to go behind my back and order a myelogram, but I’m glad you found what’s wrong. I have a conjoined twins surgery coming up soon so I won’t be able to scrub in on the spinal surgery. Good work, Dr. Kane. You deserve this one. You and Dr. Griffin scrub in, I’m handing this one off to you.”

            She placed a hand on his shoulder and patted it as if he was a kid on her little league team.

            “Thank you, Dr. Cerra,” he said as she walked off.

            “Abby,” Jackson called, trying his best to catch up.

            Marcus shot Jackson a curious look.

            “Erm, I mean, Dr. Griffin,” he corrected himself. “Sorry I’m late. I was on my lunch break and my granola bar got stuck in the vending machine.”

            “It’s okay, Dr. Jackson. Dr. Kane, this is Eric Jackson. He’s working with me this week.”

            “We’ve met,” Jackson said. “I worked under him before at Arkadia.”

            “It’s good to see you again, Jackson,” Marcus said, shaking Jackson’s hand.

            “You, too, sir.”

            Abby led the two into the room, scans in hand. She displayed the images on the screen for Alex and Paige to see.

            “Thanks to Dr. Kane’s persistence, we’ve managed to find that Alex has what’s known as a tethered spine. In layman’s terms, that means that there’s a piece of tissue connected to his spine that shouldn’t be there, so whenever he moves, it tugs on his spine and causes him pain.”

            “Can you fix it? Is it treatable,” Paige asked, holding her son tightly.

            “Yes, we can fix it,” Marcus said smiling.

            “It’s a noninvasive procedure. All I have to do is snip that piece of tissue and Alex will be free of pain.”

            Paige burst into tears. “Oh, thank you so much!” She rushed over and embraced Marcus then Abby.

            “I know what it’s like to feel helpless,” Abby whispered to Paige as she pulled her close, barely audible for Marcus to hear.

            Alex shook his head, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, she isn’t normally like this.”

            “Alex,” Marcus began, smiling, “This _is_ a normal mom.”

* * *

_Wednesday evening_

_Griffin Memorial Hospital_

_10:30 P.M._

Abby, Marcus, and Jackson were all scrubbed in and prepped for surgery. They were accompanied by a team of nurses and the anesthesiologist.  During the surgery which Abby led, Marcus assisted, and Jackson observed, the three passed the four hour surgery by discussing their favorite surgeries, their hobbies, and random happenings in their lives.

“I’ve quit smoking. Well, I’m _trying_. I had a cigarette last week.”

“I didn’t realize you smoked,” Marcus said casually.

“Not anymore,” Abby winked.

“Hey,” Abby began, beginning to laugh to herself. “Why is a female brain cheaper than a male brain?”

“Because it’s been used. Find some better material, Griffin,” Marcus teased.

* * *

  _Thursday morning_

_Griffin Memorial Hospital_

_2:04 A.M._

            “Ms. Tucker, Alex is in recovery now. He did amazingly well during the surgery and everything was a success,” Abby began.

            “If all goes well, he’ll get to go home in a day or two,” Marcus added. “He’s better, Ms. Tucker. You both have your lives back. Please, get some sleep.”

            “Oh, thank God! And thank you!”

            Paige embraced Marcus and Abby, wrapping an arm around each of them then wiping her tears away from her face.

            Marcus and Abby said their goodbyes and well-wishes to Paige, saying they’ll try to stop by and visit Alex before he leaves. As they made their way to the lockers to change clothes and head home for the night, Marcus looked over at Abby, smirking.

            “What,” Abby asked, a smile growing on her face.

            “You did good, Griffin.”

            Abby snickered. “So did you, Kane.”


	8. I Don't Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus and Abby have breakfast; Marcus receives an unexpected visitor. 
> 
> This wasn't supposed to be this long but it was Easter Sunday and I couldn't stop writing. I hope you enjoy! Kudos and comments are appreciated <3

            Abby pulled up to Marcus’ home and knocked on the maroon colored front door. It was a beautiful spring Saturday in Baltimore and Abby wore a knee length yellow sundress with a white cardigan to protect her arms from the cool morning air. Marcus opened the door wearing a pair of faded dark jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt. His hair was wet as if he’d just gotten out of the shower. The smell of waffles wafted from the kitchen and Abby felt her stomach grumble already.

            “Good morning! Just in time, like always,” Marcus grinned, greeting Abby with a warm embrace and a kiss on the cheek. “Come on in.”

            Marcus removed Abby’s cardigan and took her handbag to place them aside. As Abby removed her shoes, she took a look around the home from the foyer. The house was about the same size as Abby’s, perhaps a bit smaller. He kept it very neat and tidy and Abby was impressed by the marble floors leading from the front door into the kitchen. She followed behind Marcus as he led her to sit at the dining room table.

            “Breakfast will be out soon. What would you like to drink?”

            “Coffee is fine. I can smell it from here.”

            “I hope you like it strong,” Marcus called from the kitchen. He returned with a plain white mug full of black coffee and an elegant dish filled with sugar cubes.

            Abby admired the dish as she placed two sugar cubes in her coffee, wiping away the splatters it made on the table.

            “Family heirloom,” Marcus nodded towards the dish.

            “It’s beautiful,” Abby said, blowing on her coffee.

            Marcus headed back into the kitchen and a few moments later returned with an impressively beautiful plate of chocolate chip waffles, scrambled eggs, and bacon. The plate even sported some green garnish around the edges.

            “Marcus,” Abby said in a gasp of astonishment. “It looks delicious! I’m impressed. You even remembered the chocolate chips!”

            Marcus smiled and placed a cloth napkin across her lap then set down a container of maple syrup in front of her.

            “I have a friend from Wisconsin and they just recently finished tapping the trees up there. This is fresh maple syrup. After trying this stuff, I’d never be able to buy it from the store again.”

            Marcus placed his plate right beside Abby and sat down.

            “I hope this is up to your standards,” he said, cutting up his waffle and taking a bite. “This is actually my first time having waffles with chocolate chips, they’re pretty good!”

            “It’s the superior waffle,” Abby said before taking another bite. “And it’s delicious, thank you, Marcus.”

            With her free hand, she reached out and placed her hand over top of his. Marcus acknowledged her and smiled shyly. They interlaced their fingers and he gently rubbed his thumb over her hand as they finished their breakfast.

            “How about some music,” Marcus said after he’d finished clearing the table. He called for Alexa and ordered her to put on his Pandora station. The first song that came on was “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton. Marcus offered Abby his hand.

            “Can I have this dance.”

            “You can dance,” Abby asked, surprised.

            “Only for you.”

            They held one another closely as they swayed to the slow ballad. Marcus’ hands rested at the small of Abby’s back, absentmindedly rubbing her back as they danced while Abby laid her head on Marcus’ shoulder, taking in his still-intoxicating scent despite having been in the kitchen all morning. Farther into the song, Abby grew mildly impatient at the fact that Marcus’ hands remained no farther than the small of her back. _He must be scared_ , she thought to herself. Finally, she decided to take charge and grabbed his hand and placed it on her ass, saying not a word. She grinned up at Marcus as his eyes grew wide before she found her spot back in the crease of his neck. 

            As the music faded out, Abby lifted her head to look up at Marcus, who gazed back at her with hungry eyes. Their breathing began to pick up pace and before she knew it, Marcus’ lips were crashing into hers. Her knees buckled slightly as she melted into him, his kiss soft and sweet at first but quickly turning hot and demanding. Her arms wrapped around his neck instinctively. His kiss moved from her lips to her neck and Abby let out a faint gasp.

            “Where’s your bedroom,” she asked, panting.

            “This way.”

            Marcus lifted Abby up with ease and led her to the bedroom, planting small kisses on her lips during the short journey. He pressed her against the open door and slowly pushed it closed with her back, keeping her there as he began to kiss, nibble, and suck at her neck, almost as if he was branding her.  

            Abby could feel his arousal against her leg, causing her own arousal to heighten. They took turns removing one another’s clothes as he planted her feet back on the floor. He removed her dress as she unbuttoned and tugged on his jeans; he unfastened her bra as she pulled down his briefs as his impressive and fully erect cock sprang forth. Marcus peeled off his t-shirt and slung it across the room as he began to focus his attention on Abby’s breasts. He kissed and teased while rubbing his thumb in circular motions around her nipple. Abby had never experienced such arousal from nipple stimulation alone and it was almost enough to do her in. It might have, too, had he not stopped to carry her to the bed.

            The bed that was so soft, she nearly forgot what she was doing until she felt Marcus’ tongue grace its presence between her legs. It startled her to the point that she nearly snapped her legs shut on his head, catching herself just in time before doing so. Still, Marcus jolted away and fell on his back, cackling.

            “You scared me,” Abby shouted, throwing a pillow at him as tears of laughter fell from her face.

            Marcus crawled back to Abby wearing pouty lips. He apologized in between kisses before Abby stopped him.

            “Get back down there,” she commanded.

            He cocked an eyebrow and then nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

            Marcus picked up where he left off and with his tongue he tasted her. She followed his lead and began to grind herself in his rhythm.

            “Mmm,” he moaned into her. “Christ, Abby, you’re so wet.”

            “Inside of me. Now,” she demanded.

            Marcus smiled and grabbed a condom from the night stand, slipping it on as quickly and carefully as possible. He then positioned himself on top of her and gently slid his throbbing penis inside with ease. As he entered, Abby let out a breathy sigh. It’d been so long since she’d had sex and she’d forgotten how amazing it was. But not just the sex, it was more than just that which she missed. She missed the mere skin-to-skin contact, the panting whispers, the smells. Her hand nor any of her toys could give her _that_ satisfaction.

            He began with slow thrusts, pulling his shaft almost all the way out, leaving just the tip, before sliding back in. She could feel every vein and every ridge and it was enough to drive her wild. With each of Abby’s moans, Marcus would groan or whisper her name. Abby soon discovered that she _loved_ his sounds, so she didn’t try to be quiet.

            She told him to pick up the pace and he did just that and she moved her hips to match his thrusts. She began to sound like a broken record shouting his name, God’s name, and anyone else’s who would listen. He kissed her, swallowing all of her sounds as she trembled beneath him, her nails gripping into him, leaving scratches on his back. Her sounds must have been enough undo him because he began to thrust harder and faster and he called her name out so loudly, had Abby had a clearer mind she would have worried that the neighbors heard.

            Afterwards, they laid completely still, unable to move save for their heavy breathing. Marcus curled himself into her and planted small kisses to her temple, still out of breath.

            “That was… amazing…”

            Abby laughed. “I can’t stop thinking about that thing you did with your tongue… How did you do _that_?”

            “Cursive.”

            “What?”

            “I write my name in cursive with my tongue.”

            “Huh.”

            Abby had only had one partner before Jake and being so young and focused on schooling, neither of them were very experienced. She had a feeling that Marcus could teach her things she’d never dreamed of learning.

* * *

 

            It was Noon and the couple agreed to stay in and just spend time together. Marcus laid across the couch with Abby resting between his legs as they watched Seinfeld reruns that the both of them had seen several times before. As they laid there in their contentment, Abby began to absently toy with the ring around her neck. Marcus pretended not to notice at first, but after the second episode of Seinfeld began, he finally spoke.

            “Are you okay,” he asked, his voice nearly a whisper.

            She must have noticed his eyes on the ring as she looked down, quickly dropping it.

            “Oh, yeah, yeah… I’m fine.”

            “Abby,” he pressed, unsatisfied with her response.

            She sighed, giving in. “It was my first time. Since my husband died. It’s… more emotion than I expected.”

            Marcus’ heart sank. “Abby, I’m so sorry. We rushed things. I feel terrible-”

            “No,” she broke him off. “No, please don’t apologize. I was ready, I wanted it. I wanted _you_. This is just part of the healing process. My therapist told me I would most likely feel this way afterwards.”

            “Well, I’m here to take care of you. Unless you need to go home and be to yourself.”

            “I’m perfectly fine right here,” she said, snuggling into his chest.

            Marcus kissed the top of her head and inhaled, taking in the smell of her hair, the faintest floral smell from her shampoo coming through.

            “You know, I’m thinking about getting a dog.”

            “Really,” Abby asked, sitting up from her seat at the news. “But you’re a doctor. You’re too busy for a dog.”

            “My mom can help take care of it when I’m gone, she lives right down the street. I’m going to the humane society on my next day off to see what they have available. I’m going to take my time, though. Do my research on the breeds that they have and whatnot.”

            “Well, don’t take too long. When Clarke was young, we took her to pick out a dog and she fell in love with this little Pug. I told her we’d come back the next day but the dog had been adopted. She was devastated and we never got a dog.”

            “Wow. You didn’t reserve him? I thought that was a thing…”

            “I don’t know. And I think the dog was a female. If not, we would have had a dog named Buttercup. Clarke was going through a Powerpuff Girl phase at the time and was dead-set on the name.”

            “Buttercup,” Marcus snorted. “I’m definitely team Buttercup, as well.”

            Abby shot him a curious look.

            “What? My nieces liked the show when they were younger and would always watch it when they stayed with me.”

            Abby smirked. “I’m team Bubbles.”

            “Aw, no! That’s our deal breaker, isn’t it?”

            “Yes, sorry, but I have to go.”

            Abby stood from the couch, pretending to leave, before Marcus grabbed her wrist and pulled her back on top of him onto the couch, both cackling.

            “You’re staying here with me and watching Seinfeld and you’re going to like it,” he said into her ear, positioning himself on top of her and pinning her down with both of his hands as he nipped at her neck.

            He could feel his arousal grow in his boxer shorts—he never bothered putting clothes back on after their “second breakfast.” Abby grabbed his ass to pull him into her as closely as possible and pressed her lips against his with a fervent urge. He kissed back, harder, deeper, and trailed his fingers up her inner thigh until he found her panties, already wet with anticipation. Just as he started to slip her panties down her leg, he heard the front door open.

            “Marcus, are you ready?”

            Marcus jolted up at the sound of his mother’s voice, frantically grabbing a throw cover and placing it over himself.

            “Mom,” he called.

            His mother rounded the corner to enter the living room where Marcus and Abby sat upright on the couch.

            “Oh,” his mother said, her voice full of intrigue. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you had company. Hi, I’m Vera Kane, Marcus’ mother.”

            She offered Abby her hand and Abby shook it back, her cheeks flushed.

            “Hi, I’m Abby, Marcus’…”

            What was she to Marcus, anyhow?

            “Girlfriend,” Marcus said. “This is my girlfriend, Abby. She’s a neurosurgeon at Griffin Memorial.”

            “A _neurosurgeon_? Oh, hold onto this one, Marcus,” Vera smiled.

            Marcus smiled back and cleared his throat. “Mom, you forgot to knock. Remember what we talked about?”

            “And I thought I taught you to lock the doors. Whether you’re home or not you should always lock your doors! What if I was some crazy serial killer?”

            “Sometimes I wonder,” Marcus deadpanned.

            Vera Kane slapped her son on the shoulder, rolling her eyes.

            “Well, I’m sorry for interrupting you two but tomorrow is Easter Sunday and Marcus told me a couple weeks ago that he’d help me with preparing some meals for the church potluck after service. Or did you forget, Marcus?”

            Vera looked at Abby. “I wanted to make my famous potato salad but peeling the potatoes really flares up my arthritis,” she said, holding up her wrinkled, spotted hands which were afflicted by rheumatoid arthritis.

            “Why can’t Paula help you,” Marcus asked.

            “She and I aren’t speaking right now.”

            “How very Catholic of you.”

            Vera nudged Marcus with her elbow, giggling.

            “He’s joking. I’m not Catholic. Anymore. Presbyterian, actually. I pastor the First Presbyterian Church down the road.”

            “You never told me your mom was a pastor, Marcus!”

            Marcus shrugged, rubbing his forehead, “It never came up.”

            “I used to be a pediatrician but I had to retire when my arthritis got so bad. I couldn’t stand doing nothing so I decided to convert to Presbyterian and become a pastor. You know, you should come visit sometime! Our traditional service is at 9 and contemporary service is at 11.”

            “I’ll do that! I was raised Catholic and used to attend mass regularly until… Well, I haven’t been to church since my husband passed away.”

            “I’m sorry to hear about your husband. You’re always welcome at our church, whenever you feel ready—if you want.”

            “Sorry mom, but maybe you can just buy something at the store this time around? I’ve overbooked myself and made plans with Abby today,” Marcus said, standing beside his mother, still in nothing but his boxer shorts, the scratches Abby left on his back an hour later still visible.

            “That’s okay,” Abby spoke up. “I can help. I’d love to help, actually.” She drew her eyes to Marcus and smiled warmly at him. Marcus smiled back, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky to meet someone as selfless and kind as Abby.

            “Well, thank you Abby, that’s sweet of you. Go put some clothes on, son,” Vera said, directing her attention to Marcus.

* * *

 

            Vera unloaded the groceries out of her car that she’d brought to make the potato salad. Abby and Vera bonded as they peeled potatoes while Marcus cut the potatoes in half as soon as they handed them to him.

            Vera drilled Abby with questions ranging from religion, politics, and family life. Marcus tried with no avail several times to shoot his mother a look that said “Too much, Mom.”

            Marcus smiled at how nice Abby was during the interrogation and admittedly, it gave him an opportunity to learn a lot more about her.

            “She means well,” he whispered to Abby as they sat on the couch waiting for the potatoes to boil. Vera had slipped off to use the bathroom.

            Abby was leaning into Marcus, her head on his shoulder as they held hands. Marcus had turned on The Twilight Zone on Netflix, a show he and his mom watched together when he was a kid. During their conversation peeling potatoes, Abby had revealed that she had never watched the show, much to Marcus and Vera’s dismay. So there they sat as the potatoes boiled, watching The Twilight Zone. Marcus had serious relationships before but none felt as natural and domestic as this. He was beginning to like domestic.

* * *

 

            “Abby, thank you so much for the help,” Vera said, pulling Abby into a hug. “I’m sorry for interrupting you two but I’m glad I got a chance to meet you!”

            “I’m happy to have met you. I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe I can get Clarke to join us, as well.”

            “I’d love to meet her. I’ll see you in the morning. Bye son,” Vera kissed Marcus on the cheek and ruffled his hair like he was still 10 years old.

            Closing the door behind them, Marcus and Abby let out a relieved sigh in unison.

            “We did it.”

            “We survived.”

            “Certainly not how I was expecting this day to go.”

            “Lock the door before she comes back.”

            Marcus and Abby returned to the couch, Abby sitting between Marcus’ legs with a throw blanket over top of them.

            “So, I guess we’re going to church in the morning,” Marcus said with a quizzical look on his face.

            “Yeah, I’d like to. Your mom was really excited.”

            “She seems to like you.”

            “I hope so.”

* * *

 

            The couple ordered take out from a nearby Chinese restaurant and consummated their relationship once more before Abby went home for the evening. How badly she wanted to stay wrapped up in his arms, fall asleep with him by her side, but she had a daughter to go home to.

            When home, Abby filled Clarke in on her day, leaving out all of the dirty bits, and told her that Vera would like to meet her at church tomorrow. Clarke was unsure at first but after telling her how progressive the church was and informing her that there was even a contemporary service, Clarke became intrigued and agreed to go.

            The next morning, Clarke and Abby were dressed up in floral dresses, Clarke’s white and yellow while Abby’s was black and pink. Abby curled her hair while Clarke wore her golden, curly hair pulled half-back.

            They met Marcus outside of the church. He wore a grey suit with a pink tie. Abby greeted him with a peck on the cheek and a hug. She introduced him to Clarke and he offered her a handshake. Clarke, lacking a shy bone in her body, took his hand and pulled him in for a hug. Marcus let out a surprised chuckle.

            “I’m a hugger,” she said.

            The three of them sat together four rows back from the pulpit. They clapped along and swayed to the music, something Abby was not acquainted with but she quickly adapted and actually enjoyed the atmosphere. Once the worship service ended, Marcus placed his arm around Abby and she rested her hand on his knee while Vera preached a beautiful sermon on the resurrection of Christ.

            Following the sermon, a potluck was held in the fellowship hall. Abby, Marcus, and Clarke sat with Vera. Vera took time getting to know Clarke and asking her about her studies. She later introduced them to an elder of the church, Blake, and his husband, Jim, and they joined them, as well. Blake bragged on the potato salad and said it was just like his mom’s, who lived back in Texas where he was born and raised. Vera smiled and said that Marcus and his girlfriend Abby helped her make it.

            Marcus stayed at the church to help his mother clean things up after the potluck was over. He walked Abby and Clarke to their car to see them out. Marcus hugged Clarke goodbye and said he hoped to spend more time with her soon. Clarke agreed, then took a seat in the driver’s side of her mother’s Lexus.

            Marcus and Abby directed their attention back to one another and Abby wrapped her arms around his neck.

            “Clarke’s driving us home. Pray for us,” she said in a faint laugh.

            Marcus smiled. “You’re always in my prayers. Thanks for coming today. It means a lot. To me and mom.”

            “Of course. I enjoyed it. Clarke did, too. It was nice meeting everyone.”

            “You’ve met my mom, that was the easy part. Now all you have to do is survive my siblings and you’re good to go.”

            Abby buried her face in his neck, laughing. “You’re amazing. I’m sure they are, too.”

            She grabbed his bearded face with both hands and pulled him in for a kiss. He placed his hands on her hips and followed her lead. They both had to break away much sooner than they would’ve liked, not wanting to turn it into a make out session in the church parking lot, in front of Clarke, no less.

            “I’ll call you tonight.”

            Abby acknowledged him with a smile before climbing into her car.

“I can’t wait.”

            As they pulled away, Marcus regarded the space where Abby had been standing, her perfume still lingering in the air. He inconspicuously wiped the lipstick from his lips the best that he could before heading back inside the church.

            On his way back inside, he thought about how for many years he’d fought against the idea of falling in love and how finally… _Finally_ , he may have had met his match with Abigail Griffin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow so that was my smuttiest chapter of anything that I've ever written... I don't normally write smut so I hope it's... okay??


	9. Hurts So Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As tragedy strikes Baltimore, the crew at Griffon Memorial Hospital get an influx of patients. Abby and Marcus work together once again, but tensions rise as they cannot agree on how to save a young man's life.

            It had been an unusually busy Tuesday morning at work for Abby and her lack of sleep the night before, thanks to Marcus and his talented tongue, was not helping. Clarke was off of school for spring break and spent the night at Raven’s house that evening, so Abby invited Marcus over. After an evening of intense sex, much rougher than at breakfast, they finally fell asleep around 2 A.M., only for Abby to awake to the sound of her cell phone ringing an hour later. A patient began seizing and was intubated. Abby would have to go in and perform epilepsy surgery in hopes to stop the seizures. She rolled over, kissed Marcus goodbye, and got dressed for work.

            She didn’t have time for her normal Starbucks run so she grabbed a cup of coffee from the break room instead. Not caring about the taste, she quickly downed it straight and hoped the caffeine would work its magic soon, as she was about to scrub in for surgery.

            By 6 A.M. the surgery was complete and a success in the means that they managed to do what they went in to do and the patient survived. It would be a year or two to really get an idea of if the patient was cured from the seizures of not.  

            Abby’s shift didn’t start until 8, so she had made plans to take a nap in the on-call room. The on-call room that she usually used was occupied so she took the elevator down a floor to another on-call room. As she exited the elevator, she was greeted by Kane.

            “Marcus, good morning,” Abby said cheerily, despite her bloodshot eyes and tired body.

            “Good morning, Abby,” he said, pulling her into a warm embrace. “What time were you called out?”

            “Around 3 this morning. My shift doesn’t start until 8 so I’m going to go try to get some shut eye.”

            “Rest up. I’m off to separate some conjoined twins!”

            Kissing her on the cheek, he turned and walked into the elevator. Before he hit the 6th floor button, he called out, “Last night was fun.”

            Abby smirked. “Yes, it was.”

            She stood in place as she watched the elevator doors close, regarding the space where he once stood before finding her way to the on-call room, making herself comfortable on the bottom bunk, and drifting quickly off to sleep.

* * *

 

            Abby stirred from a deep, stupefied sleep at the sound of the alarm on her phone. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she let out a yawn and stretched. She struggled to muster the strength to get up after finally getting some much-needed rest. Following last night’s exercise with Dr. Kane, she was sure she could sleep through a tornado.

            She managed to lever herself up to a vertical position and worked the kinks from her shoulders. She certainly was not in her 20s any longer, evident by the multitude of pops and cracks her body made when she merely sat up out of bed; however, whenever she was with Marcus, he made her feel like she was young again. She’d used muscles last night that she hadn’t used in God knows how long and the man introduced her to positions she didn’t even know existed. As tired as she was, she could feel her loins heat up just thinking about the night before.

            She was jolted back to reality as she heard the on-call room door open. A winded Callie plopped down on the bottom bunk across from Abby.

            “Hey Cece.”

            “Oh, hey Abs. I just ran down here, our usual on-call room was full of… interns. Bleck.”

            “Yeah, I saw, that’s why I’m here. Shouldn’t they be working?”

            “Shouldn’t we,” Callie asked in a laugh.

            “Well, my shift just started. I was called in at 3 this morning.”

            “I was called in at 2. So, how was breakfast on Saturday?”

            _Here we go_ , Abby thought to herself. But admittedly, she’d been wanting to share with someone about the details of their relationship, and Callie was her best friend, after all.

            “It was… delicious,” Abby said suggestively, gripping the pillow beside her and pulling it against her chest as she smiled in thought. “But also, odd. His mom stopped by unannounced, so I had the pleasure of meeting her an hour after Marcus and I had sex.”

            A faint gasp left Callie’s lips. “You guys had sex?! Oh! How was it? Were you dressed?”

            “I’ll just say that you are one good match maker. And, _yes_ , I was dressed. He _barely_ was. We helped her make potato salad for her church function. She invited me to church with them the next day and I agreed. Marcus and I had sex again after she left that evening.”

            “You naughty bitch!”

            Abby covered her face and let out a loud belly laugh. “I can’t help myself, he’s irresistible! What do you think I was up to last night?”

            “Wow, that explains you missing my calls.”

            Abby smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

            “So… Is he… _big_?”

            Her mouth curled into a smile and she bit her bottom lip, silently nodding her head to confirm.

            “Ahh, I knew it. It’s the nose! The nose is always the best indicator. Well, if the urge ever strikes you while at work, the supply closet on the third floor is an _amazing_ place-”

            “Absolutely not.”

            “You mean you and Jake never even…”

            “In public? Of course not!”

            “Wow.”

            Before Abby could comment anymore, a melody of pagers began going off. Abby and Callie checked their pagers in unison, reading there had been an emergency and they needed all hands on deck.

* * *

 

            “What’ve we got?”

            Abby joined the team consisting of two nurses, an intern, Kane, and Diyoza in the crowded ER, quickly slipping on her gear. A bridge had collapsed leaving dozens of people in the ER, some with minor sprained ankles, others who were dead by the time they arrived in the ambulance.

            “Chase Davidson, 18. He was on the top of the bridge when it collapsed.”

            Marcus stood at the end of the hospital bed with his pen in hand.

            “Hey Chase, I’m Dr. Kane, can you try and wiggle your toes for me?”

            Chase simply writhed his head in pain, making guttural cries through gritted teeth.

            Marcus frowned and took his pen, running it gently along the bottoms of Case’s feet. No response. He looked at Abby with a furrowed brow. It wasn’t good.

            Abby responded to his silent comment and nodded. “He needs surgery right away. I think a disk may be pressing against some nerves. The sooner we get in there, the less damage will be done.”

            Following administering the boy some drugs for the pain and swelling, Diyoza finished her examination of the patient’s upper body and removed her gloves. “I paged for ortho to come set the leg. Aside from bumps and bruises, everything else checks out fine. I’ll let you and Kane handle this from here.”

            As Diyoza opened the curtain to leave, in walked Dr. Indra Woods in a huff. “Does nobody know how to set a leg?”

            “Uh, isn’t that your job,” Marcus remarked.

            Abby shot Marcus a cautionary glance.

            “Are you talking back to me, newcomer?” Indra shot back in a prominent Haitian accent.

            Abby’s eyes grew wide, shaking her head quickly to, in vain, warn Kane not to disturb the hornet’s nest.

            “No, I’m just saying. We need to get this boy to the OR before he’s permanently paralyzed.”

            Indra shook her head and mumbled under her breath. “Ungrateful…” A string of Haitian-Creole curse words followed.

            The tiny room remained quiet the remainder of the time as Abby filled out Case’s chart and Marcus monitored his stats for the time being. In the midst of the quiet, suddenly there was a SNAP and a CRACK. She’d set the leg possibly in record time. Abby attempted to stifle a laugh at Marcus’ visible discomfort.

            “All done. I must go.”

            “Thank you,” Marcus said, but Indra was already gone, leaving the curtain swaying as she exited like a bullet from a gun.

            “She’s… scary,” Marcus said, almost to himself.

            Abby laughed. “She is indeed.”

            “I like her.”

* * *

 

            Marcus stood outside of Chase’s makeshift hospital room, his back to the drawn curtains, with his hands resting on his hips. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Abby had just suggested, no, insisted that they perform a procedure that could put Chase’s life on the line, more so than it already was. He huffed and shook his head, wringing his dry, chapped hands. The fact that Abby never asked him what he thought bothered him more than anything. It was too big of a risk that he wanted to take.

            “I get no say in this? I’m assigned to him, too. And my answer is absolutely not.”

            “What other choice do we have,” Abby asked, beginning to grow visibly frustrated. They were short on time and they needed to break the stalemate.  

            “The _safe_ choice. Abby, he could die.”

            “And if I don’t do it this way, then he may never walk again. He’s 18. He deserves a chance for a full life. If it was Clarke on the table, I’d make the same decision.”

            “He deserves a chance for _life_ , which he won’t get if you do this surgery, I guarantee it.”

            Abby scoffed.

            “What,” Marcus asked in an exasperated sigh.

            “I’m a doctor, too, Marcus. I know what I’m doing.”

            “Then ACT like it,” he hissed.

            Abby physically recoiled at his words, the sting being almost unbearable. As he stormed off, Abby stood completely still, blinking away the tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat and ordered Jackson to book the OR. Wiping the tears from her cheek, she rushed to scrub in, hoping no one would notice her dampened face. She knew that she should have asked Marcus his opinion instead of assuming that he would agree to do it her way, but to her, it was the only reasonable solution to help the young man.

            Before entering the OR to scrub in, she met Marcus in the hallway, who was visibly calmer than before. They made eye contact before Abby continued walking, directing her gaze to the tiles on the floor.

            “Abby,” he called, his footsteps making haste.

            She just kept walking. She could hear him sigh with frustration, quickly catching up behind her.

            “Dammit, Abby, wait!” With that, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to face him.

            Abby pulled her arm out of his grasp and straightened herself, building up her strength and courage. Her face was wet and tears were still fighting their way out of her eyes, but she no longer cared.

            “What?”

            “I’m sorry for what I said.”

            Abby rolled her eyes and turned back towards the OR door. Marcus grabbed her by the wrist once more.

            “I regretted it as soon as I said it. Abby, you’re the most brilliant surgeon I’ve ever known, and if you think that’s the best procedure for him, I’ll stand by you proudly and assist. I trust you. I didn’t mean to doubt you. Please, can we go in there and save that boy’s life _and_ his quality of life?”

            Abby stared down at her feet, the tears beginning to fall once again. She could only nod her head.

            With a relieved sigh, Marcus pulled her into him, hugging her tightly. His lips met hers with a warm, wet kiss. How she needed that, needed him. She stroked his beard as he slowly broke away from their kiss.

            “You scrub in, I’ll go get Chase.”

* * *

 

            The surgery went off without a hitch, Abby was able to remove the disks that were causing the pressure, alleviating the pain while also giving Chase all feeling back in his lower back and legs.

            Following the surgery, the couple had lunch together in the cafeteria. Marcus was unable to keep his eyes off of Abby.

            “I’m so proud of you. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

            Abby smiled at her green beans, thinking if she made eye contact with him, she might just break into tears once again. He had a way to undo every fiber of her being with just a look. She thought she was going to get away with it until she felt his fingers under her chin, lifting her face up to match his.

            “Abby. I’m sorry.”

            She took his hand that had remained under her chin and placed it in both hands, bringing it up to her lips to kiss, starting with the top of his hand then moving and kissing each finger.

            “These hands work their magic in and out of the OR,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. Last night only left her wanting more. Quite frankly, since Saturday, it was all she could think about.

            After they dumped their trays, Abby kissed Marcus goodbye in the quiet stairway before she went off to do her rounds.

            “Come over tonight,” she said in between kisses. His back was pinned against the cold, brick wall, Abby’s arms wrapped around his waist.

            “Won’t Clarke be home?”

            “She won’t mind.”

            “You’ll have to be quiet,” he whispered in her ear, his lips barely brushing her ear lobe, sending shivers down her arms and spine.

            “I will be.”

            “Hm,” he said, doubtful. “I’ll see you tonight, then.”

* * *

 

            Marcus arrived at Abby’s house later than he’d originally planned. He wanted to go home first, put on some nice clothes, and shower, making himself a little more presentable before showing up at his girlfriend’s house, whose daughter was most likely also home. He spent more time than he’d ever admit in front of the mirror getting his hair to lay _just right_. He slipped on a pair of dark jeans, a crimson red button up shirt, and sprayed on a dab of cologne before dashing out the door.

            He stood awkwardly outside, twiddling his thumbs, as he awaited for someone to open the door of which he just knocked.

            After a few moments, he heard footsteps getting closer before he was greeted by Clarke, who donned a bright smile when she saw him. Her hair was done up and she had her handbag around her arm. She pulled him into a hug.

            “Hi Marcus, it’s good seeing you again!”

            “Hey Clarke. Going somewhere?”

            “Yeah, I’m going to the movies. Oh, that’s my ride now! Bye mom,” she shouted back into the hallway. “Bye Marcus! Sorry I can’t stay.”

            Clarke trotted down the steps, getting into the car with a group of boys and girls around her age.

            Marcus watched them drive off and then removed his boots atop the welcome mat, closing the door behind him.

            “Abby,” he called.

            “In here,” she replied. He followed her to the living room where she laid sprawled out on the sofa, a pile of blankets and pillows surrounding her, Game of Thrones playing on the big screen television. Chinese take-out, a bottle of red wine, and two glasses, rested on the coffee table.

            “I ordered take-out. It’s still warm. Are you hungry?”

            “Famished. Thank you.”

            Marcus grabbed a set of chop sticks and dumped out a serving of General Tso’s Chicken and a helping of fried rice into a container as Abby poured them both a glass of wine. Noticing her pouring two glasses, Marcus began to speak up.

            “I, uh, don’t-”

            “Don’t worry, you don’t have to drink it. At least I can pretend that I’m not drinking alone if you pose with it,” Abby chuckled.

            Marcus returned a chuckle and brought the glass of wine to his nose, sniffing it as he swirled it around in the glass.

            “This is what people do, right?” He continued swirling and sniffing, triggering a guffaw from Abby.

            To Abby’s surprise, he took a sip, immediately cringing.

            “Ah, yes,” he said, coughing, “A sort of oaky afterbirth with this one.”

            With that, Abby doubled over in laughter, completely ignoring the Battle of the Bastards on television.

            “Oh, no, that’s not the right word! Aftertaste, I meant aftertaste! Ah, I’m so embarrassed.”

            Marcus pulled Abby to him and shielded his face into the crease of her neck, his beard tickling her ever so slightly.

            Abby drew closer as she chuckled, her hands grasping at his wavy, dark hair, so soft with just a touch of hair gel. Or was it hairspray? She was sure he’d never reveal his secrets.

            They settled in, Abby sitting between Marcus’ legs as they were both propped up on the couch, indulging in the Game of Thrones marathon while Marcus finished his dinner, Abby shushing Marcus when he tried talking during the “important parts” of the show.

            “But you’ve already watched this,” he’d say.

            “Yes, but I might’ve missed something the first time I watched it!”

            After the marathon was over, Marcus checked his watch, something he did habitually throughout the entire evening, but Abby was unable to determine why. She cocked an eyebrow and looked at him.

            “Do you have someplace to be?”

            “Huh,” Marcus looked up, confused. “Oh, no. It’s just that Clarke left awfully late this evening for a movie, and now it’s after 11. Shouldn’t she be home by now?”

            “Her curfew isn’t until midnight.”

            “ _Midnight_?”

            “Are you trying to other mother me, Marcus?”

            He chuckled nervously. “What? No, I obviously know nothing about parenting, I’m just worried is all.”

            Abby smiled. She found it a relief that his checking the time every half hour wasn’t because he was in a hurry to leave her, he was just concerned about her daughter.

            “She texted me about an hour ago asking if she could stay the night again at Raven’s. I had Raven’s mom text me and I approved.”

            Marcus let out a tiny sigh of relief. Abby fell into him, planting small, quick kisses on his cheeks as she worked her way to his lips, unbuttoning his shirt as she ran her fingers through his fine chest hair. She could feel his smile on her lips as they grazed over his own. As she pulled back, she noticed his crooked, boyish smile, something she was beginning to grow quite fond of. She took his face in both of her hands.

            “You’re such an amazing man. Stay with me tonight.” And in a sensuous whisper, her lips brushing his ear, she said, “I want you.”

            Marcus inhaled slowly and gulped, feeling his pants grow tighter.

            “Come to bed with me, Kane.”

            Who was Marcus Kane to ever defy doctor’s orders?


	10. This Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little smut, a lotta fluff.

            “Good morning, Dr. Griffin.”

            His chipper voice nearly startled her. Abby steadied herself and faced him.

            “Dr. Kane. How are you today?”

            “I’m well. How are you?”

            Even in a casual conversation at work, Marcus’ voice still managed to have a sultry tone to it, and his mischievous smirk did not help. The man knew what he was doing and Abby couldn’t even be mad at him for it.

            “I’m fine. A little tired from last night,” Abby said in a low voice, a faint smile beginning to form.

            “Oh,” Marcus feigned shock, “should we no longer do that on weekdays?”

            Abby scoffed, answering Marcus’ question.

            As they both smiled, silence fell between them and their eyes met. Slowly, their gaze shifted from one another to the on-call room to Abby’s right. She bit her lip and grinned before looking back at him.

            “So you’re not _too_ tired, then,” he remarked, cocking an eyebrow.

            Without another word, Marcus nodded and slyly opened the door, letting Abby in before sneaking in right behind her as inconspicuously as possible.

            As the door shut behind them, Marcus tugged at Abby’s scrubs, removing her top before planting small kisses on her breasts as she unhooked her bra. He tore off his shirt and threw it on the floor beside them as she removed her bottoms.

            Marcus pressed Abby up against the door with the force of his body, blocking her in with both of his arms. She could feel his growing member against her leg and she decided it was unfair that she was down to her panties while he still wore his pants. With both hands, she pulled down his pants, briefs falling down with them, and his fully erect member sprang forth. At that, Marcus chuckled and ripped off her panties, throwing them across the room. Abby noted that she would want to know where those went when it was time to get back to work, but Marcus’ touch brought her out of her thoughts. He began to run his long fingers slowly down the inside of her arms, causing goosebumps to form under his hungry touch. His soft lips trailed her neck and breasts as he tenderly nibbled on her most sensitive areas. Abby’s breath caught in her throat as she felt his hand move from the wall to her already swollen clit. He let out a moan as he ran circular motions over her, exploring the wetness and the warmth below. He moved his fingers from her clit and slowly inserted one, then two fingers inside of her. She felt an electrifying wave of pleasure almost immediately and let out a loud cry. Marcus frantically cut her off by kissing her lips and whispered, “Shh. We have to be quiet.”

            Beside herself, Abby began to giggle. Marcus continued kissing her lips before saying in a moan, “It feels like you’re ready.”

            “Mmmm,” was the best response she could muster.

            “Bed,” he demanded, slipping his fingers out of her to point to the nearest bottom bunk.

            “Yes, Marcus,” Abby replied meekly before gently tugging on his member, pulling him towards the bed.

            Marcus’ eyes widened. “Who’s really in charge here?”

            “I am,” Abby winked, “But just for fun, I’ll let you pretend to be in charge. It’s awfully amusing.”

            Marcus shoved Abby onto the bed and positioned himself on top of her.

            “Oh, is that right?”

            “Mmhm.”

            “We’ll see about that,” he said, cheekily.

            And with one swift thrust, he was inside.

* * *

 

            “ _Where_ are my panties,” Abby asked, frantic, in a rush to get dressed and back to work. “What did you do with them,” she asked, turning to a messy haired Marcus who wore a crooked grin and nothing more.

            “How am I supposed to know? I was a little distracted,” he said in a chuckle.

            Abby rolled her eyes. “Get dressed!” With a groan, she plopped down onto the edge of the bottom bunk and put her face in her palms. “I can’t believe I did that!”

            “What? Had sex with me? You’re just now realizing what a mistake you’ve made? I hate to break it to you but this was far from the first time that we’ve had sex, in case you’ve forgotten.”

            “No, not that. It’s just that… I’ve never done… _that_ before.”

            “Sex in the on-call room?”

            “Sex outside my own home.”

            Marcus eyes grew wide in surprise. “Really?! Not even in a hotel?”

            “Well, yes, of course there’s that.”

            “What about cruise ships?”

            Abby made a face and furrowed her brow at the random question. “I’ve never been on a cruise.”

            “Oh, you’re missing out. We should go sometime.”

            “Okay but that’s beside the point. I mean I’ve never had sex in a public place. Someone could have walked in on us! You didn’t even lock the door, you idiot!”

            Abby stood and met Marcus’ glaring gaze, who looked upon her with a mixture of amusement and arousal. She grumbled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

            “Like what?”

            “Like we just had sex at work.”

            He cocked a brow. “Because we just did?”

            She ignored his comment and began her search once again for her missing panties.“Ah, here they are,” she shouted from the top bunk, holding her pink lace panties up in the air as if she’d just won the most esteemed medical award.

            The couple quickly got dressed, helping one another adjust their hair in attempts to look somewhat like they did before they slipped into the on-call room.

            As they kissed one another goodbye, Abby ran her fingers through Marcus’ hair, trying to get the unruly curls to lay like they once were. Planting another kiss on his lips, she smacked his ass.

            “Now wipe the post-coital glow off of your face before someone suspects something.”

            “As if everyone else in this hospital doesn’t do the same thing we just did.”

            Abby snorted. He wasn’t wrong. “You are a terrible influence. Now go, we have patients to see.”

            With one last kiss before opening the door, they said their goodbyes, with Marcus parting first and Abby slipping out of the room a few minutes later.

            During her rounds, Abby encountered Dr. Collins on the neuro team who had successfully completed a complicated spine surgery and asked Abby if she could simply check in on his patient.

            “I have another surgery to do, but everything went fine.”

            “No problem, Dr. Collins, I’ll check in on him.”

            Abby entered the private hospital room and found a middle aged man sitting up in bed.

            “Mike Sloane? Hi, I’m Dr. Griffin, Dr. Collins sent me to check on you. I’m the head of neuro here at the hospital. Are you ready to walk around a bit?”

            “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Mike replied with a nervous chuckle.

            Abby lowered the bed and slowly helped him up onto his feet. She had one hand on the walker by the bed in case he needed it, while her other hand was there to assist him as he made slow movements away from the bed. As he took his first few steps, Abby was sure that everything was fine, until suddenly she felt him slip from her arm, his body quickly falling to the hard hospital floor. A nurse heard the collapse and scrambled in to help.

            “He’s tachycardic. I need a gurney and crash cart! And page cardio!”

            Callie arrived just as Abby was charging the crash cart to 200.

            “Hey, what’s going on?”

            “Dr. Collins patient, Mike Sloane, 49, recovering from a complicated spine surgery. Everything went fine in the OR, Collins asked me to just check in on him. As I’m helping him walk, he just collapses,” Abby said. “Charge to 250. Clear.” Another jolt from the defibrillator finally stabilized Mike’s heart rate, giving the doctors a moment to breathe.

            As they cleared the crash cart and got Mike back into bed, Abby noticed the smile on Callie’s face, her eyes focused on her hair.

            “What,” Abby asked as she ran a hand through her honey locks, suddenly feeling insecure.

            “Nice hair. Messy,” Callie said with a wink.

            Abby rolled her eyes, her face quickly becoming a warm shade of pink. “Let’s focus on the patient, please?”

            After Abby and Callie finished with Mike and filled Dr. Collins in on his patient, they joined Marcus and Diyoza at the cafeteria for lunch.

            “This is the first time we’ve all found time to have lunch together at work. Our schedules are usually so out of sync,” Callie exclaimed as she finished off her burrito bowl. Diyoza, who already had finished her lunch, had one arm wrapped around her wife as the other was used to hold her cell phone as she scrolled through social media.

            “Although some of us are more present than others. Put your phone away, Char, we’re with friends!”

            Diyoza shrugged, putting her phone away into her coat pocket. “Sorry. The Ravens are playing the Eagles right now and I wanted to check the score.”

            “Oh! What’s the score now? Last I checked it was 7-3 Baltimore,” Marcus said, his mouth half-full of salad as he sat closely to Abby, his left hand resting on her leg as his thumb made short, circular laps around her knee.

            “It’s a tie, 13 to 13.”

            “Damn, the Eagles have caught up. We’ve got a strong team, we could still beat them.”

            Abby and Callie met one another’s gaze and made a face. “Sports,” Abby heaved. Callie nodded in agreement.

            “We haven’t had a double date since the night that you two met. We need to get together again,” Diyoza said, changing the topic away from sports, much to the joy of Abby and Callie.

            “Oh, yes, I’d love that,” Callie chimed.

            “If you two get off of work early enough tomorrow, we could have dinner at my place. Abby and I are off tomorrow. I’m adopting a dog and she’s going with me.”

            “Wait, are you two adopting a dog _together_ or is it going to just be your dog, Marcus? There’s a big difference.”

            Marcus chuckled nervously and tugged at his collar, obviously scared to give the wrong answer. He looked at Abby but she kept her face unreadable, curious as to what his answer would be.

            Abby wouldn’t be opposed to getting a pet with Marcus, even though it’s still early in their relationship. It isn’t like they have been taking things slow. She’s slept with him on multiple occasions, her daughter has met him, she’s met his mom and everyone at their little church. Why not get a pet together?

            “Well,” he began, clearing his throat. “I guess we never really talked about that. I’d just mentioned to Abby that I was thinking about getting a dog. She moved some things around and decided to go with me tomorrow. But I guess it’s in the realm of possibilities.”

            Abby smiled. “That’s the right answer,” she said, rubbing his taut bicep. “Now breathe, you’re not in trouble.”

            Marcus exhaled dramatically, drawing a laugh from all three women, his smile growing at their reaction. He radiated a strong, fun energy and was often trying to make people laugh or smile, which Abby loved about him. When she thought about it, there really wasn’t much she didn’t love about him, which warmed her to her deepest core and terrified her all at once.


	11. Gimme Shelter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby goes with Marcus to adopt a dog. Later, they have dinner at her place where Marcus and Clarke find common ground.

            The next day, Abby and Marcus arrive at the Humane Society, waiting until 10 A.M. for the doors to open. Once the metal doors finally became unlocked, the couple browsed the halls to explore their options—Marcus’ options—for pets. Marcus was giddy. He played with every dog that was willing and even tried to calm down the more aggressive and nervous dogs, approaching them slowly with an outreached hand, speaking to them in a hushed voice as they barked, drool falling from their jowls.

            As the couple rounded the corner and walked up the next aisle, Marcus’ eyes fell onto a blue Great Dane, a year old, according to his information chart. The pup held a tennis ball in his mouth and as he saw Marcus, began to push the tennis ball under the cage with his front paws, urging Marcus to throw the ball back over the cage. Marcus complied and the dog jumped up high into the air, catching the ball. The pattern repeated for minutes until a volunteer approached them and asked if they had any questions about the pup named “Poe”. Despite himself, Marcus asked the first question that popped into his mind.

            “Is he good with kids?”

            He felt his face grow warm as he caught Abby’s curious gaze.

            “He is, actually. He spent some time with a young family yesterday and did very well with their 4 year old. If you have any kids, you’ll have to bring them to meet him before moving forward with adoption, if you wanted to.”

            “I don’t have kids. It’s just. Well, someday, maybe.” A nervous chuckle escaped as he rubbed the back of his neck.

            “A dog is a long-term commitment, it’s best to ask these questions for future reference! Good for you for being proactive. If you’d like, you and your wife and go outside and spend some time with Poe.”

            Abby and Marcus exchanged looks, neither correcting the young volunteer, only sharing an awkward grin and a restrained chuckle.

            “We’d like that,” said Abby.

            The volunteer slipped a short leash on Poe and lead him through a “staff only” exit door to a small screened in porch, the artificial grass floor covered in chew toys and tennis balls of differing qualities.

            Marcus picked up a newer looking tennis ball and held it in the air for Poe. The pup quickly jumped up to latch onto the ball. Marcus laughed at the sight of the dog holding on with all of his might as he swung him around ever so gently in the air.

            Abby, who was sitting on the grassy floor adjacent to Marcus, called for Poe and pulled him into a hug as he licked her cheek with his long pink tongue. The force from the large pup nearly knocked her over. She held her sides as she laughed, Poe now attacking her with kisses.

            “He really likes you guys. I’ve actually never seen him connect with anyone like he has connected with you two.”

            At that, the couple looked at one another, Marcus arching his brow slightly. Abby nodded.

            The paperwork was the most tedious. Signing agreements, reading clauses, transferring Poe’s microchip information. Once that was all finished, Marcus and Abby finally left with Poe tugging on the leash as he anxiously sniffed around the parking lot, a plush tiger squeaky toy in his mouth that the volunteers sent with them, which apparently was his favorite from the shelter. It squeaked obnoxiously loud each time Poe bit down on it.

            “He’ll definitely need obedience training,” Marcus remarked in a huff after they finally loaded the dog into the backseat of his car, the toy still squeaking loudly in Poe’s mouth.

            “What happened to taking your time, doing you research,” Abby asked him with a smile. She was teasing him.

            “Well, after your story about the non-existent Buttercup, I got scared. And look at him, Abby, he’s perfect.”

            SQUEAK. SQUEAK. SQUEAK.

            Abby didn’t reply, instead, she covered her ears and laughed. _If you say so_ , she thought to herself, half-joking. Marcus Kane, a busy doctor at one of the largest hospitals in the area, has adopted a dog and not just any dog: a hyperactive Great Dane puppy who is already large and still growing. _This’ll be fun_.

            They arrived at Marcus’ place and introduced Poe to the home, letting him meander through the yard as he marked his territory obsessively before taking him on a tour of the inside of the house. Once they settled in, Abby kissed Marcus goodbye and invited him and Poe over for dinner later that evening. A last minute change considering Callie and Diyoza had to cancel on double date dinner plans as Callie’s patient had taken a turn for the worse.

            “See you around seven?”

            “Seven is perfect,” Marcus replied as his forehead rested against hers, his eyes drinking her in as one thumb gently caressed her sharp jawline. One last kiss goodbye and Abby bid him and Poe farewell.

* * *

 

            The doorbell to Abby’s home rang just as she’d put the chicken on to fry. She checked her watch. 6:40. He was early, as usual. She wore a pair of black leggings and an over-sized Journey t-shirt, her hair in a loose, messy bun, strands of her honey colored locks falling from each side. She knew just how he loved the casual look on her. She greeted him in the doorway with a quick kiss on the lips and Poe a kiss on the head. Marcus led Poe around Abby’s home, letting him familiarize himself with the place while Marcus set boundaries for the pup.

            “You don’t have to ring the doorbell, you know,” Abby called from the kitchen. She was making a favorite of Marcus’, saltado de pollo, a Peruvian chicken stir fry. She’d never made it before but she found a well-reviewed recipe on Pinterest which she used as a guide, tweaking it as she went along if need-be.

            Marcus approached from behind, wrapping his strong arms around her waist, Poe right by his feet, waiting patiently for a crumb to fall to the floor. He kissed the top of her head and breathed in, taking in her scent, a mixture of melon and plum with a floral hint. He liked it. He ran his hands up her waist, stopping at her breasts. They filled his hands. They were, admittedly, one of his favorite parts of her body.

            Abby slapped his hand away with a smile. “Clarke’s upstairs!”

            “Oh, well she should come down and meet Poe!” It was impossible for Marcus to even try to hide his excitement.

            “My kid meets your kid,” Abby joked. “Clarke, come downstairs, we have visitors,” Abby called. No response. “Ugh, she must have those damned headphones on.”

            “Nope, I’m right here mom,” Clarke said in a laugh. “Hey Marcus,” she said as she pulled Marcus in for a hug. Before Marcus could reply, Clarke had let go and shrieked elatedly. “Who is this,” she asked, directing her attention to Poe.

            “I thought we were having a moment there, but I see you’re more interested in my dog now. That’s Poe.”

            “Poe, aww, I like that. Like Edgar Allan Poe. We learned about him in English 1. Creepy stuff.”

            “I enjoy Poe’s works,” Marcus said. Clarke made a face before returning her attention back to Poe.

            “Can I take him for a walk around the block? Please?”

            Marcus smiled at how much Clarke already loved the dog. “Ask your mom.”

            “I don’t see why not. Just be careful.”

            “Yeah,” Marcus added, “He’s not trained. He doesn’t do very well on a leash. Don’t let him pull you around too much.”

            “My team always won at tug-a-war on field days, so I should be fine,” Clarke joked as she put the leash on Poe. “Be back in a bit!”

            At the sound of the click of the door shutting behind Clarke and Poe, Marcus’ hands found their previous spots. His lips trailed her neck, nibbling and sucking just below her ear as his fingers worked her nipples underneath her shirt and bra. Abby moaned. Suddenly, his lips and fingers stopped.

            “Mm,” Abby complained. “Why’d you stop.”

            “Where’s your necklace?”

            Abby turned to face him, her bare left hand falling onto the place where her necklace adorned with Jake’s wedding band used to sit. “The rings are Clarke’s now.” Her voice was unwavering. “I’d been debating on taking them off for a while now, but I never really had a reason to. Until I met you.”

            Marcus smiled. “How do you feel about not wearing them anymore?”

            “Guilty at first,” she admitted, a dry laugh escaping. “But it was time.”

            She took his hands in hers and pulled him in for a lingering kiss. He returned her kiss and deepened it, lifting her chin with the swift movement of his forefinger.

            “I love you, Abby” Marcus whispered against her lips before capturing her them with his own once more.

            Abby’s cheeks flushed.

            “Marcus…” Before she could say anymore, Clarke stormed through the front door.

            “Poe slipped the harness but he was too afraid to go very far without me,” she called as she removed her shoes at the front door.

            “Can Poe stay the night? Marcus, you can stay, too. We’ll have a movie night.”

            “You’re just using me to get to my dog.” Marcus arched an eyebrow knowingly, his hands around Abby’s waist as she stirred the chicken.

            “Maaaybe,” Clarke shot him a white, toothy grin.

            He shook his head and smiled, knowing full-well this girl will have him wrapped around her finger just like her mother. “I’ll go get our stuff after dinner. If that’s okay, Abby?”

            “Of course,” she said, kissing him before removing the chicken from the stovetop. “Wash up, Clarke, dinner’s ready.”

            Marcus set the table as Abby made last-minute preparations for the dinner. They had the Peruvian chicken stir fry, French fries, and rice.

            Sitting around at the table together, Abby drank a glass of white wine while Marcus and Clarke drank Dr. Pepper. Clarke talked to Marcus about school and her friends as she snuck Poe pieces of French fry or chicken under the table. Marcus pretended not to notice. Clarke quizzed Marcus on pop culture, asked him if she liked Star Wars and what Hogwarts house he belonged to.

            “The sorting hat told me I was Ravenclaw.”

            “Hm.. I would have pegged you as a Hufflepuff.”

            Marcus scrunched his face. “Really?”

            “You two have lost me,” Abby remarked as she sipped her wine. Despite being completely confused with the topic at hand, she enjoyed watching her daughter and Marcus bond.

            “Sorry,” Marcus said with a smile, leaning over to kiss Abby on the cheek before returning back to his conversation with Clarke.

            “Muggles,” he mumbled to Clarke as he shook his head. Clarke nearly spat out her Dr. Pepper.

            “Go ahead, have fun at my expense, I won’t stop you.” Abby plopped a fry into her mouth, feigning annoyance.

            The three bellowed laughter.

            “Mom, you _need_ to watch the Harry Potter movies already. Then take the sorting hat quiz!”

            “I can’t believe you’ve never watched the movies,” Marcus said, his mouth half-full of stir-fry.

            “I _did_ watch them, the first couple, anyway.”

            “Yeah, but you didn’t pay attention. So now you get to start all over.”

            “Oh goodie.” At that, Abby downed the rest of the wine in her glass before topping it off once more.

            Once the three of them were finished with dinner, Marcus drove over to his home to gather his and Poe’s things. Once he returned and changed into more comfortable clothes (athletic shorts and a Black Sabbath 1978 tour t-shirt), he and Abby found a spot on the couch and Clarke in the recliner with Poe lying beside of her, the first Harry Potter movie playing on the tv. Marcus sat on the couch, his feet propped up on the upholstered ottoman while Abby rested her head in his lap, a fleece blanket draped over top of her body.

            Abby had paid a bit more attention to the movie this time, learning the three kids names: Harry, Ron, Hermione. But the fantasy plot had her a bit bored. She fell asleep early into the second movie. As the credits rolled, Abby stirred at the sound of laughter. She opened her eyes to see Clarke’s phone pointed at her.

            Clarke brought up the new photo on her phone and held it up to Abby. “Proof that you didn’t really watch all of the movie.”

            “I watched all of the first one,” Abby said in a yawn.

            “More progress than your first attempt, I will give you that.”

            Marcus merely smiled at the Griffin ladies’ banter as he rubbed Abby’s back.

            “What time is it,” Abby asked, stifling another yawn.

            Clarke stood over them and checked the time on her phone. “1:30. I’m beat. Thanks for staying over and hanging out, Marcus. Maybe we could do this more often,” she smiled.

            “Thanks for the invite, kiddo. It was fun.”

            “Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Marcus.”

            “Night,” the adults said simultaneously.

            Clarke scratched the back of Poe’s ears, planting quick kisses on his head before telling him goodnight, as well.

            Marcus and Abby got Poe settled into his crate, which was so large (necessary for a dog Poe’s size) Marcus jokingly called it a hotel, before heading to Abby’s room.

            “It’s been a long day. I need a shower,” Abby said as she opened the door to her master bathroom. Even her voice sounded exhausted.

            “Need help with that?” Marcus smirked, following her to the shower.


	12. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby faces her fears, in and out of her nightmares.

            She entered a brightly lit room, no one inside but her and…Jake?

            “Hey baby.” He wore his trademark scrub cap and a smile. Her heart raced. She hadn’t seen him in so long.

            “I thought you were dead,” she croaked. She walked to him but before she could touch him with her outreached hand, he disappeared into thin air. “No,” she screamed.

            A flash of light. Marcus appeared. He was wearing what he wore the night they met. White pocket tee, black jeans, black combat boots. He even wore same cologne. Or was it aftershave? She never found out.

            “Abby,” he said softly, his lips curling into the warm, boyish smile she’d quickly grown to love.

            She smiled back at him and wanted to embrace him, but she felt a presence. Someone was watching them. Suddenly, with another flash of light, Jake reappeared, standing to the right of Abby. She reached for his ring on her gold chain draped across her neck, but it wasn’t there. It was on his finger instead. When her eyes moved back to his face, he donned a saddened expression. She’d moved on, found love, and he was hurt. She’d hurt her husband. A wave of intense guilt overtook her.

            “Do you love me, Abby?” Marcus voice echoed in the room. Abby furrowed her brow. She tried to say _yes_ but no words escaped her. Her eyes darted to Jake and back to Marcus again. Before she could give Marcus an answer, he disappeared, Jake quickly following after. She stood alone then, both men that she loved gone.

* * *

 

            Abby awoke with a start, a bead of sweat dripping from her temple. She pushed herself up and propped her back against the upholstered headboard, trying to catch her breath as her heart rate slowly climbed back down to a somewhat normal pace. She turned her head to see Marcus lying on his side. His slow, even breaths told her that she hadn’t woke him; however, after the dream that she had just had, she needed him.

            She slowly adjusted herself and wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling closely into him. She planted light kisses on his neck with her dry yet still-soft lips.

            “Mmm,” he said, sleepily.

            He rolled onto his back and Abby found her place on top of him as his hands fell to her bare hips

            They’d had a fight the night before but still how natural it was for them to find this position. It occurred to her as she thought back to their fight why she’d had that dream.

            Marcus had asked her if she loved him. Clarke and Poe interrupted them earlier that evening before Abby could respond to his unexpected confession (or was it really that unexpected?). He asked her later that night as he was drying his hair after they’d gotten out of the shower and were readying themselves for bed.

            “Do you, Abby?” His furrowed brow accentuated the lines on his forehead gifted over the years by Father Time.

            She was cornered, then, and had to give an answer. He was being pushy, but she knew it’s because he was scared. Something told her that he hadn’t uttered those words to many people before. Despite herself, just like in her nightmare, she felt a wave of guilt before she could give him an answer. Her mouth remained agape but no words escaped.

            Marcus’ lip curled. “I should’ve known,” he chuffed.

            Abby stood in her bathrobe on her side of the bed. She stopped fluffing her pillow and recoiled at his words. She braced herself to look at him directly. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

            He didn’t respond. He threw the towel he was drying his hair with onto the drop and then dropped the towel that was wrapped around his midsection. He slid under the plain white downey duvet covers and turned off the light on the bedside table.

            Abby huffed. “Marcus, talk to me, please.” But all she’d gotten from him was a mumbled “goodnight.”

            His words clung to her even this morning. _I should’ve known_. They kept replaying in her mind. He should have known what exactly? Was his words based on his own previous experience with women, or was it because she was some damaged widow still coping with her husband’s death after five years and he shouldn’t have expected for her to ever move on?

            Nevertheless, she was on top of him, slowly moving her hips rhythmically against him. He let out a soft groan. It was no secret at that point that he was turned on, the evidence of his desire poking against her smooth thigh. She kissed him, then. A long, slow, deep kiss, taking her time to pull away before facing what she knew she had to face.

            “I’m sorry about last night.”

            Marcus, still half-asleep and still distracted by her sex having just been rubbing up against him, took a moment to reply. He’d briefly forgotten what she was referring to.

            “I’m the one who should be sorry, Abby.” He rubbed a gentle hand up and down her arm. “Take your time. I’m here, no matter what. At least now you know how I feel and that I’m really in this. This isn’t just sex to me.”

            Abby smiled at his words and ran a hand over his toned chest, her long fingers brushing through the few fine hairs. “I love you, Marcus. I tried to say it last night but I had this overwhelming sense of guilt. My therapist told me to expect something like that if it ever came to this, but it still shocked me. After five years since Jake’s death and now growing so close to you, I thought it would be easy.”

            “Nothing is easy, honey. Especially not love. I’m sorry if I seemed impatient. I’m fairly new to commitment and, truth be told, I’m _terrified_.”

            “I thought as much,” Abby said with a knowing smile. Before she could reassure him that it would be okay, he spoke again.

            “And I’m sorry for what I said. It was wrong and it was out of anger. I had my fears going into this in the beginning that I’d fall too hard but in the end you wouldn’t be ready to move on. Last night, I thought maybe those fears had come true.”

            Abby frowned. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

            “Thank _you_ for being so patient with _me_.”

            “I love you, Marcus.”

            “I love you, too, Abby. More than anything.”


End file.
